ملخص: The in-depth composition of silicon nitrided layers obtained by low-energy ion implantation of nitrogen atoms (6 keV; 3 x 1017 ions cm-2) into silicon single crystal was analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy coupled with ion milling. Besides elemental composition, the XPS lines allow the description of local morphology through a decomposition of spectra in a set of one to five components after each argon-ion etching step. In this way, this procedure is used for the characterisation of the interfacial region between the pure silicon substrate and the Si3N4 layer, which can be compared with the theoretical models: such as the random bonding model (RBM) or random mixture model (RMM). However, in this interfacial area, there is evidence of a pile-up of nitrogen atoms which correlates with its role in determining electronic properties.

لغة: إنجليزية