Bonding structure of silicon oxide films

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Abstract
X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements of the O 1s and Si 2p lines in films of the SiOx system have been interpreted on the basis of continuous random network models. Fitting of the spectra to five lines corresponding to five silicon centered tetrahedral configuration yields the relative proportion of each configuration as a function of x. The distributions agree neither with the random mixture model nor with the random bond model (RBM). The total oxygen in the films exceeds the amount of oxygen in the tetrahedral structures indicating the presence of molecular oxygen, water, peroxy bonding, or other forms of oxygen not bonded to silicon. The general features of the distributions can be explained on the basis of silicon clusters, nonbridging oxygen, and the RBM. This conclusion implies that reactive evaporation with oxygen may result in material that is not as fully oxidized as might be expected on the basis of the oxygen content of the film.