Synchrotron Radiation and Conventional X-ray source photoemission studies of γ-Al2O3 thin films grown on Si(111) and Si(001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

AbstractHigh-resolution synchrotron radiation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HRXPS) is used to study the chemical bonding at the Al2O3/Si(001) and Al2O3/Si(111) interfaces. In both cases, the Si2p spectra recorded at 180 eV photon energy provides evidence a thin interfacial layer rich in Si-O bonding. On the other hand, conventional AlKα X-ray source angular measurements clearly indicate that there are two in-plane orientations for Al2O3/Si(111) : [11-2]Al2O3(111)//[11-2]Si(111) and [-1-12] Al2O3(111)//[11-2]Si(111) but four in-plane orientations for Al2O3/Si(001) : [11-2] Al2O3(111)//[100]Si(001), [11-2]Al2O3(111)//[010]Si(001), [11-2]Al2O3(111)//[-100]Si(001), and [11-2]Al2O3(111)//[0-10]Si(001).