A medium energy ion scattering and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of physical vapor deposited thin cerium oxide films on Si(100)

40 A thick cerium oxide films have been grown on Si(100) substrates via physical vapor deposition of cerium metal in an oxygen background. The films have been characterized for their composition and thermal properties upon deposition and under different annealing conditions via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) and their morphology using atomic force microscopy. By reoxidizing the films in O-18(2) gas and using MEIS, we investigated the processes responsible for film formation. We found that annealing the as-deposited samples to 750 degrees C produced a cerium silicate film with a sharp silicate:silicon interface. Our results show that the oxygen transport in both the oxide and silicate films occurs via an exchange mechanism. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.