Structural analysis of the SiO2/Si100 interface by means of photoelectron diffraction

The local environment of Si atoms at the interface between a thermally grown SiO2 film and Si(100) was studied by angle-scanned photoelectron diffraction. Experimental photoelectron diffraction patterns for each Si oxidation state were obtained from the results of least squares fitting on Si 2p core-level spectra. A comparison of the diffraction patterns with multiple-scattering calculations including an R-factor analysis was performed. An excellent agreement between experimental and simulated data was achieved within the proposed bridge-bonded interface model [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 4393 (2000)]].