In‐situ ellipsometry at a wavelength of 632.8 nm is used to analyze silicon surfaces in an aqueous ambient. The ellipsometric data indicate that a surface which is optically quite similar to bare Si is obtained when the native film is etched from a Si substrate by aqueous . In contrast, the surface obtained by etching the native oxide in aqueous buffered leads to formation of a residual film on the Si substrate. Roughening of sample surfaces treated with either aqueous or BHF is observed by microscopy. The high degree of roughness obtained following treatment appears to influence ellipsometric measurements on samples, but this influence is not observed following BHF exposure where less roughness is noted.
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Gould et al. (1989) studied this question.