Physical and electrical characterization of silicon suboxide seed layer

The silicon suboxide SiOx (x<2.0) offers promising application possibilities ranging from electrodes in lithium-ion batteries used widely in electrical vehicles and portable devices to sensing applications. Therefore, a low cost, environmental friendly and high performance oxide materials are required for an appropriate operation of any electronic gadget. In this work, we report on the physical and electrical properties of a suboxide formed as a seed layer during the formation of a dielectric layer, namely the ammonium silicon hexafluoride. The measurement results reveal interesting properties, which are required to be understood clearly before any application. The results have been analyzed using state-of-the-art techniques and compared with the developments of SiOx obtained by related techniques. In this presentation, a comprehensive review of the physical and electrical properties is given in order to clarify the origin of the observed features. At the end of the paper, a lookout is provided for the possible applications of this special SiOx dielectric seed layer.