Etching atomic-hydrogen

A wide variety of process-induced defects in Si are passivated by reaction with atomic hydrogen. Examples of process steps in which electrically active defects may be introduced include reactive ion etching (RIE), sputter etching, laser annealing, ion implantation, thermal quenching and any form of irradiation with photons or particles wih energies above the threshold value for atomic displacement. In this section we will discuss the interaction of atomic hydrogen with the various defects introduced by these procedures. 

An example of the ability of atomic hydrogen to passivate the electrically active damage created by Ar2+ ion beam (6 keV) bombardment of n-type (N = 1.5 x 1016 cm-3) Ge is shown in Fig. 8. In this case the Ge was sputter etched for 10 min. at 24°C or 100°C and the spectrum recorded using an evaporated Au Schottky contact. The damage created by the sputtering caused the rather broad peak of Fig. 8(i), which was unaffected by a 30 min. anneal at 200°C in molecular hydrogen. Heating in atomic... 

In addition to the physical interactions described above, the tip may also be used to alter the local chemical conditions within the tunnel junction. For example, catalytic rehydrogenation of carbonaceous fragments on Pt(lll) by tip-directed production of atomized hydrogen in vacuum at the Pt-Ir tip has been described [524]. Similar modification schemes may also be envisioned based on limiting the transport of reactants and products into or away from the partly occluded tunnel junction. As noted earlier, such effects may be important in the study of electrodeposition and etching process [126-131]. Nonetheless, much remains to be understood about the detailed physics and chemistry of the immersed tunnel junction. 

For the carbon system the atomic hydrogen acts as medium for selective etching and stabilization of the diamond surface. 

Kim et al.f studied the effect of gas pressure on the nucleation behavior of diamond on a Si(lOO) substrate in HFCVD. The pressure was varied from 2 to 50 torr, while a filament temperature of2200°C, a substrate temperature of 850°C, a total flow rate of 20 seem and a CH4 concentration of 0.8 vol.% were used. The characterization of diamond deposits using micro-Raman spectroscopy, SEM and OM revealed that the maximum nucleation density of diamond parades on the unscratched Si substrate occurred at a pressure of 5 torr. The pressure dependence of the nucleation density was explained by the competition effect between P-SiC formation, which increases the diamond nucleation density, and atomic-hydrogen etching, which decreases the nmnber of nucleation sites. On the basis of this finding, a new fabrication approach for high-quality diamond films without... 

Atomic hydrogen etches graphite faster than diamond. 

Complex surface processes during HC1 etching (acidic dissolution of oxides, electrochemical oxidation) lead to the formation of a porous, chloride-containing iron oxide layer while nickel remains in the zero-valent state. Subsequent reduction, facilitated also by hydrogen atoms formed on nickel sites, results in an increased number of surface iron and nickel atoms and an enhanced catalytic activity. The larger concentration of atomic hydrogen on the surface and the presence of surface Ni are observations that are supported by the decreased selectivity of olefin formation. 

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