Dramatic effect of postoxidation annealing on (100) Si/SiO2 roughness

We use a plan-view transmission electron microscope technique to unambiguously image the “physical” interface position between Si and furnace grown SiO2 layers. As-grown ∼6-nm-thick (100) oxides have a very high roughness (σ∼10–15 Å), which can be removed by short annealing in an inert gas at a growth temperature of 900 °C.