Removing native oxide from Si(001) surfaces using photoexcited fluorine gas

This letter discusses the reaction between (001) oriented Si surfaces and photoexcited fluorine gas resulting in the removal of the native Si oxide. For an F2/Ar gas system, the bulk Si was etched in areas where the native Si oxide had been completely removed. However, by using an F2/H2 gas system, only the native Si oxide was removed. We used this method to remove the native Si oxide in Si epitaxial growth. A high‐quality single‐crystal Si film surface was obtained up to a maximum temperature of 600 °C through this Si growth process. We also characterized the etching of a thermal oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon carbide.