XPS study of a SiC film produced on Si(100) by reaction with a C2H2 beam

A Si(100) surface reacted with a well-collimated C2H2 beam was studied by XPS after storing it in air for about one year. The SiC film formation was confirmed by the characteristic XPS peaks of Si2p (101.3 eV) and Cls (283.3 eV) for SiC. The chemical maps on the surface were obtained by imaging XPS. The ≈ 1 mm diameter SiC region was clearly identified on the Si substrate by the method. In the SiC and the non-reacted Si regions the Si2p XPS peak for SiO2 (103.6 eV) and the O 1s peak were also observed. The intensities of the O 1s and Si 2p (SiO2) peaks in the SiC region were smaller by a factor of 0.75 than in the surrounding Si region. This indicates that the carbide (SiC) film was less reactive to O2 than the Si surface. There was very little evidence of any SiOx (x < 2) products which may be transients in the formation of SiO2 or complexes like CSiO.