Surface Studied with Auger Electron Spectroscopy

We present an Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) study of the adsorption of nitric oxide (NO) on a dean Si(100)2 × 1 surface at 300 and 550 K. Accurate measurements reveal wall resolved fine structure at Auger Si L2.3 w transitions at 62 and 83 eV. These peaks can be attributed to Si-O and Si-N bonds. Furthermore, it is argued that the broadening in the SiLi2,~W Auger transition at 83 eV at 300 K may be composed of two nearby peaks, which could be attributed to two different kinds of chemical bonding, Si-N and Si-O. The absence of a peak at 69 eV at room temperature strongly suggests the NO adsorption on a Si(100)2x 1 surface to be molecular. Dissociation of NO on the Si(100)2 x 1 surface is observed at 550 K.