An uhv study of the first stages of the growth of SiO₂/InP mis structures with oxygen and silane vector gases

We report preliminary results on the first stages of the growth of SiO₂ on InP by chemical vapor deposition with O₂ and SiH₄ vector gases. We have monitored with surface analysis techniques the separate interactions of InP with O₂ and SiH₄ in an UHV environment. At moderate temperature and exposures, we observe that SiH₄ does not adsorb on clean InP, but reacts with previously oxidized surfaces. The growth of SiO₂ on InP then proceeds first by oxidation and then by silanization. This second reaction is shown to change the bonding at the interface, from InO and PO bonds to InPSiO bonds. We finally report indications that this type of bonding yields interesting interfaces for microelectronics applications.