On the short-range order of the SiOx (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) surface

Fine (oscillating) structure (FS) in the elastically scattered electron spectra (ESES) [O. Bondarchuk, S. Goysa, I. Koval, P. Melnik, M. Nakhodkin, Surf. Sci. 258 (1991) 239; O. Bondarchuk, S. Goysa, I. Koval, P. Melnik, M. Nakhodkin, Surf. Rev. Lett. 4 (1997) 965] was used to investigate surface structure of the SiOx (0 ≤ x ≤ 2). SiOx surface with different stoichiometry was prepared by implantation of 500 eV oxygen ions into a silicon wafer. Fourier transformation of the FS ESES contains one peak at 2.32 Å for Si, two peaks at 1.62 Å and 2.65 Å for a-SiO2 and three peaks centered at 1.6–1.7 Å, 2.1–2.2 Å and 2.65–3.04 Å for SiOx. Peaks at 1.62 Å and 2.65 Å are assigned to Si–O and O–O nearest distances correspondently. Ratio of the area under the peak at 2.65 Å to the area under the peak at 1.62 Å turned out to be not constant but grows linearly with the composition parameter x. The latter is considered to prove validity of the Random Bond Model to describe short-range order on the surface of non-stoichiometric silicon oxide.