The effectiveness of HCl and HF cleaning of Si0.85Ge0.15 surface

The cleaning of Si{sub 0.85}Ge{sub 0.15} surfaces using HCl and HF solutions is studied using synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy. The HF solution is found to be effective in removing both the Si oxide and the Ge oxide while the HCl solution can only remove part of the Ge oxide. For samples treated with HF, four spectral components are needed to fit the Ge 3d photoemission spectra. One is the bulk component and the other three are attributed to the surface Ge atoms with mono-hydride, di-hydride and tri-hydride terminations, respectively.