Angle resolved X-ray photoemission spectroscopy double layer model for in situ characterization of metal organic chemical vapour deposition nanometric films

In situ Angle Resolved X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARXPS) characterizations of TiO2 thin films grown on silicon by Metal Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition were performed in order to get information on interfacial reactions at the first stages of the growth, one of the aims being to understand the influence of deposition conditions. Thickness measurements were also carried out from ARXPS analyses. As the real structure of the films was shown to be a double layer system such as TiO2/SiO2/Si, an ARXPS model of thickness and surface coverage determination was applied to each layer independently. However, the application of this model to very thin films underestimates the surface coverage of the interfacial layer. A Double Layer model taking into account the attenuation of the silicon oxide and substrate signals by the external layer was also developed. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.