The electronic properties of inversion and accumulation layers at semiconductor-insulator interfaces and of other systems that exhibit two-dimensional or quasi-two-dimensional behavior, such as electrons in semiconductor heterojunctions and superlattices and on liquid helium, are reviewed. Energy levels, transport properties, and optical properties are considered in some detail, especially for electrons at the (100) silicon-silicon dioxide interface. Other systems are discussed more briefly.

Electronic properties of two-dimensional systems

The purpose of this article is to describe the basic physical processes involved in the nucleation and growth of thin films of materials on solid surfaces. In this introduction the three modes of crystal growth which are thought to occur on surfaces in the absence of interdiffusion are described, and the relationships between the thermodynamics of adsorption and the kinetics of crystal growth are explored in general terms. This is followed by a brief review of atomistic nucleation theory, explaining the relations of such theories to experimental observables. In the next three sections, recent experimental examples of these three growth modes are given, which are interpreted where possible in terms of nucleation and growth theory. The last section discusses observations on the shapes of growing crystallites and the relation of such observations to nucleation and surface diffusion processes.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/47/4/002/pdf

Nucleation and growth of thin films

The Interaction of Water with Solid Surfaces: Fundamental Aspects Revisited

The bonding of Si atoms at the SiO2/Si interface is determined via high-resolution core level spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation. For oxides grown in pure O2, the SiO2/Si interface is found to contain Si atoms in intermediate oxidation states with a density of 1.5 ± 0.5 × 1015 cm−2. From the density and distribution of intermediate oxidation states, models of the interface structure are obtained. The interface is not abrupt, as evidenced by the non-ideal distribution of intermediate oxidation states and their high density (about 2 monolayers of Si). The finite width of the interface is explained by the bond density mismatch between SiO2 and Si. Annealing in H2 is found to influence the electrical parameters by removing the Pb centers that pin the Fermi level. The distribution of intermediate oxidation states is not affected.

Microscopic structure of the SiO 2 /Si interface

http://nathan.instras.com/documentDB/paper-44.pdf

Surface photovoltage phenomena: theory, experiment, and applications

The increasing requirements of modern silicon technology ask for structural analysis of non-periodic features down to atomic resolution. New instrumental developments in surface physics provide such informations both with imaging (TEM) and differaction (LEED) techniques. The atomic steps at the Si/SiO2 interface, which are produced during oxidation, are studied with respect to vertical and lateral distribution and to correlation with device performance (like interface state density and mobility). Also for epitaxial growth atomically smooth interfaces are required for best electrical and optical performance. LEED results show the two-dimensional nucleation and the layer-by-layer growth in detail.

The microstructure of technologically important silicon surfaces

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-642-59484-7_415.pdf

Observation of a two-dimensional plasmon in a metallic monolayer on silicon surface

Scanning tunneling microscopy is used to study the nucleation and epitaxial growth of germanium on Si(111) substrates at elevated temperature. Different growth regimes of germanium are observed for coverages from the submonolayer range to about 10 ML. For small coverages germanium grows pseudomorphic. Triangular shaped islands and large reconstructed areas of (5×5) or (7×7) are observed. For coverages of about 5 ML the misfit of germanium to silicon leads to strain, which results in a quite disordered layer. For coverages of more than 10 ML the layer relaxes and assimilates the germanium bulk behavior. Here dislocations have been observed.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study of Ge Molecular Beam Epitaxy on Si(111) 7×7

The first stages of epitaxial growth determine the growth of films with respect to general growth, orientation, smoothness, homogeneity and all other types of possible deviations from an ideal epitaxial film. For those studies it is important to see details of the starting substrate and of growing islands by direct microscopy, which is best accomplished by STM. The same way it is necessary to have good average values and distribution functions of sizes, distances and defect densities, which is best done by diffraction. It will be demonstrated, how the STM images from small areas and the diffraction patterns from large areas with low energy electrons (LEED) combine static informations on single defects and single islands with kinetic informations during growth at any temperature for a best description of homo-epitaxy and heteroepitaxy. The presence of defects like dislocations, stacking faults or domain boundaries is shown as their importance for nucleation. The kinetics of film growth is derived from diffraction measurements during deposition or annealing. Some defects like lattice constant variations (strain) or orientational defects (mosaics) are also seen in diffraction. In this way only a combination of techniques will enable a detailed description of growth processes.

Study of epitaxial growth by combination of STM and LEED

Quantitative evaluation of random distributed steps at interfaces and surfaces

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