Roles of oxygen and water vapor in the oxidation of halogen terminated Ge(111) surfaces

The initial stage of the oxidation of Cl and Br terminated Ge(111) surfaces is studied using photoelectron spectroscopy. The authors perform controlled experiments to differentiate the effects of different factors in oxidation, and find that water vapor and oxygen play different roles. Water vapor effectively replaces the halogen termination layers with the hydroxyl group, but does not oxidize the surfaces further. In contrast, little oxidation is observed for Cl and Br terminated surfaces with dry oxygen alone. However, with the help of water vapor, oxygen oxidizes the surface by breaking the Ge–Ge back bonds instead of changing the termination layer.