Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation

In recent years, the hybrid silicon-molecular electronics technology has been gaining significant attention for applications in sensors, photovoltaics, power generation, and molecular electronics devices. However, Si-H surfaces, which are the platforms on which these devices are formed, are prone to...

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Main Authors: Li, Tiexin, Peiris, Chandramalika, Aragonès, A.C., Hurtado, Carlos, Kicic, Anthony, Ciampi, Simone, MacGregor, M., Darwish, T., Darwish, Nadim
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP190100735
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93933
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author Li, Tiexin
Peiris, Chandramalika
Aragonès, A.C.
Hurtado, Carlos
Kicic, Anthony
Ciampi, Simone
MacGregor, M.
Darwish, T.
Darwish, Nadim
author_facet Li, Tiexin
Peiris, Chandramalika
Aragonès, A.C.
Hurtado, Carlos
Kicic, Anthony
Ciampi, Simone
MacGregor, M.
Darwish, T.
Darwish, Nadim
author_sort Li, Tiexin
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In recent years, the hybrid silicon-molecular electronics technology has been gaining significant attention for applications in sensors, photovoltaics, power generation, and molecular electronics devices. However, Si-H surfaces, which are the platforms on which these devices are formed, are prone to oxidation, compromising the mechanical and electronic stability of the devices. Here, we show that when hydrogen is replaced by deuterium, the Si-D surface becomes significantly more resistant to oxidation when either positive or negative voltages are applied to the Si surface. Si-D surfaces are more resistant to oxidation, and their current-voltage characteristics are more stable than those measured on Si-H surfaces. At positive voltages, the Si-D stability appears to be related to the flat band potential of Si-D being more positive compared to Si-H surfaces, making Si-D surfaces less attractive to oxidizing OH- ions. The limited oxidation of Si-D surfaces at negative potentials is interpreted by the frequencies of the Si-D bending modes being coupled to that of the bulk Si surface phonon modes, which would make the duration of the Si-D excited vibrational state significantly less than that of Si-H. The strong surface isotope effect has implications in the design of silicon-based sensing, molecular electronics, and power-generation devices and the interpretation of charge transfer across them.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-939332024-11-12T02:39:56Z Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation Li, Tiexin Peiris, Chandramalika Aragonès, A.C. Hurtado, Carlos Kicic, Anthony Ciampi, Simone MacGregor, M. Darwish, T. Darwish, Nadim deuterium flat band potential silicon oxidation surface isotope effect In recent years, the hybrid silicon-molecular electronics technology has been gaining significant attention for applications in sensors, photovoltaics, power generation, and molecular electronics devices. However, Si-H surfaces, which are the platforms on which these devices are formed, are prone to oxidation, compromising the mechanical and electronic stability of the devices. Here, we show that when hydrogen is replaced by deuterium, the Si-D surface becomes significantly more resistant to oxidation when either positive or negative voltages are applied to the Si surface. Si-D surfaces are more resistant to oxidation, and their current-voltage characteristics are more stable than those measured on Si-H surfaces. At positive voltages, the Si-D stability appears to be related to the flat band potential of Si-D being more positive compared to Si-H surfaces, making Si-D surfaces less attractive to oxidizing OH- ions. The limited oxidation of Si-D surfaces at negative potentials is interpreted by the frequencies of the Si-D bending modes being coupled to that of the bulk Si surface phonon modes, which would make the duration of the Si-D excited vibrational state significantly less than that of Si-H. The strong surface isotope effect has implications in the design of silicon-based sensing, molecular electronics, and power-generation devices and the interpretation of charge transfer across them. 2023 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93933 10.1021/acsami.3c11598 eng http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP190100735 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP220100553 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT200100301 fulltext
spellingShingle deuterium
flat band potential
silicon oxidation
surface isotope effect
Li, Tiexin
Peiris, Chandramalika
Aragonès, A.C.
Hurtado, Carlos
Kicic, Anthony
Ciampi, Simone
MacGregor, M.
Darwish, T.
Darwish, Nadim
Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation
title Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation
title_full Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation
title_fullStr Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation
title_full_unstemmed Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation
title_short Terminal Deuterium Atoms Protect Silicon from Oxidation
title_sort terminal deuterium atoms protect silicon from oxidation
topic deuterium
flat band potential
silicon oxidation
surface isotope effect
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP190100735
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP190100735
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP190100735
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93933