{"id":{"repo_id":"vcu","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2007"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vcu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2007","repository":{"repo_id":"vcu","name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","base_url":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"STM Studies of Oxygen Etching of Silicon Surfaces","abstract":"This study uses atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the oxygen etching behavior of the following silicon surface orientations: (001), (111), (113), (5 5 12) and (112). Most etching was performed at sample temperatures between 650 °C and 800 °C, at pressures of 3.3×10-7 and 1.5×10-7 Torr, and at an exposure of 200 L. Surface orientation strongly influences the morphology resulting from extended etching. The surface orientations that are stable against etching and remain flat include Si(001), Si(111), and Si(113). Such surfaces also include island structures, which result from etching around oxide-induced pinning sites. The density of these islands increases at lower temperatures and higher pressures. The surface orientations that are unstable against oxygen etching and facet to other orientations include Si(5 5 12) and Si(112). These surfaces form sawtooth facets that are primarily composed of more stable (111) and (113) planes. By controlling the temperature and exposure during oxygen etching, it is therefore possible to form a variety of surface morphologies.","abstract_html":"This study uses atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the oxygen etching behavior of the following silicon surface orientations: (001), (111), (113), (5 5 12) and (112). Most etching was performed at sample temperatures between 650 °C and 800 °C, at pressures of 3.3×10-7 and 1.5×10-7 Torr, and at an exposure of 200 L. Surface orientation strongly influences the morphology resulting from extended etching. The surface orientations that are stable against etching and remain flat include Si(001), Si(111), and Si(113). Such surfaces also include island structures, which result from etching around oxide-induced pinning sites. The density of these islands increases at lower temperatures and higher pressures. The surface orientations that are unstable against oxygen etching and facet to other orientations include Si(5 5 12) and Si(112). These surfaces form sawtooth facets that are primarily composed of more stable (111) and (113) planes. By controlling the temperature and exposure during oxygen etching, it is therefore possible to form a variety of surface morphologies.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Willis, Mary L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Physics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Alison Baski"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:47Z","subjects":["semiconductor","silicon","reactivity","oxygen","AFM","etching","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Physics"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1008"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1008","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1008","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/6H1A-T131","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Alison Baski"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Willis, Mary L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Physics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["semiconductor","silicon","reactivity","oxygen","AFM","etching","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Physics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/6H1A-T131","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1008"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study uses atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the oxygen etching behavior of the following silicon surface orientations: (001), (111), (113), (5 5 12) and (112). Most etching was performed at sample temperatures between 650 °C and 800 °C, at pressures of 3.3×10-7 and 1.5×10-7 Torr, and at an exposure of 200 L. Surface orientation strongly influences the morphology resulting from extended etching. The surface orientations that are stable against etching and remain flat include Si(001), Si(111), and Si(113). Such surfaces also include island structures, which result from etching around oxide-induced pinning sites. The density of these islands increases at lower temperatures and higher pressures. The surface orientations that are unstable against oxygen etching and facet to other orientations include Si(5 5 12) and Si(112). These surfaces form sawtooth facets that are primarily composed of more stable (111) and (113) planes. By controlling the temperature and exposure during oxygen etching, it is therefore possible to form a variety of surface morphologies."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["STM Studies of Oxygen Etching of Silicon Surfaces"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Alison Baski"],"dc:creator":["Willis, Mary L."],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study uses atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the oxygen etching behavior of the following silicon surface orientations: (001), (111), (113), (5 5 12) and (112). Most etching was performed at sample temperatures between 650 °C and 800 °C, at pressures of 3.3×10-7 and 1.5×10-7 Torr, and at an exposure of 200 L. Surface orientation strongly influences the morphology resulting from extended etching. The surface orientations that are stable against etching and remain flat include Si(001), Si(111), and Si(113). Such surfaces also include island structures, which result from etching around oxide-induced pinning sites. The density of these islands increases at lower temperatures and higher pressures. The surface orientations that are unstable against oxygen etching and facet to other orientations include Si(5 5 12) and Si(112). These surfaces form sawtooth facets that are primarily composed of more stable (111) and (113) planes. By controlling the temperature and exposure during oxygen etching, it is therefore possible to form a variety of surface morphologies."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/6H1A-T131","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1008"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["semiconductor","silicon","reactivity","oxygen","AFM","etching","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Physics"],"dc:title":["STM Studies of Oxygen Etching of Silicon Surfaces"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Physics"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:47Z"}