Atomic-scale defect control on hydrogen-terminated silicon surface at wafer scale

We have developed a wet preparation method for an atomically defect-free Si wafer surface. In the conventional atomically smooth treatment using ammonium fluoride aqueous solution, dissolved oxygen has been revealed to form defects on the Si (111) surface. We have been able to create an extremely atomically smooth hydrogen-terminated surface with a good periodic step/terrace structure. Moreover, the ordered surface structure was confirmed to be fabricated all over the wafer surface. The atomic-scale defect-free hydrogen-terminated wafer surface with a periodic step/terrace structure is expected to be highly useful as a well-defined substrate for nanostructure fabrication and high-quality film deposition, and to be useful in many other research fields. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.