Morphological stability of the atomically clean surface of silicon (100) crystals after microwave plasma-chemical processing

Abstract

The morphological stability of atomically clean silicon (100) surface after low-energy microwave plasma-chemical etching in various plasma-forming media is studied. It is found that relaxation changes in the surface density and atomic bump heights after plasma processing in inert and chemically active media are multidirectional in character. After processing in a freon-14 medium, the free energy is minimized due to a decrease in the surface density of microbumps and an increase in their height. After argon-plasma processing, an insignificant increase in the bump density with a simultaneous decrease in bump heights is observed. The physicochemical processes causing these changes are considered.