Investigation of the transition region between layers wet grown at and Si

Silicon oxide layers wet grown at on silicon substrates of integrated circuit quality have been investigated by slow-positron-implantation spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. The total thickness of pure on top of a transition zone is determined by ellipsometric measurements; the positron/Auger results indicate that the transition zone extends over 15 - 23 nm. Its thickness decreases as the layer is thinned by a wet-chemical process at room temperature. The results are consistent with earlier secondary-neutral mass spectroscopy measurements.