Oxidation of SiC produces SiO2 while CO is released. A `reoxidation' step at lower temperatures is, however, necessary to produce high-quality SiO2. This step is believed to cleanse the oxide of residual C without further oxidation of the SiC substrate. We report first-principles calculations that describe the nucleation and growth of O-deficient C clusters in SiO2 under oxidation conditions, fed by the production of CO at the advancing interface, and their gradual dissolution by the supply of O under reoxidation conditions. We predict that both CO and CO2 are released during both steps.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0105572,
title = {Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Formation and Dissolution of Carbon Clusters in SiO2},
author = {Sanwu Wang and Massimiliano Di Ventra and S. G. Kim and Sokrates T. Pantelides},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0105572},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
RevTex, 4 pages, 2 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (June 25, 2001)