Simulation of the oxidation pathway on Si(100) using high-resolution EELS

We compute high-resolution electron energy loss spectra (HREELS) of possible structural motifs that form during the dynamic oxidation process on Si(100), including the important metastable precursor silanone and an adjacent-dimer bridge (ADB) structure that may seed oxide formation. Spectroscopic fingerprints of single site, silanone, and "seed" structures are identified and related to changes in the surface bandstructure of the clean surface. Incorporation of oxygen into the silicon lattice through adsorption and dissociation of water is also examined. Results are compared to available HREELS spectra and surface optical data, which are closely related. Our simulations confirm that HREELS offers complementary evidence to surface optical spectroscopy, and show that its high sensitivity allows it to distinguish between energetically and structurally similar oxidation models.