Deenapanray, PrakashHillie, KDemangel, CarolineRidgway, Mark C2015-12-130142-2421http://hdl.handle.net/1885/93675The surface morphology and metallic contamination of magnetron sputter-etched Si(111) was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) as a function of Ar plasma pressure. The root-mean-square roughness (Rrms) of plasma-etched Si decreased monotonically from 36±28 angstroms at 2×10-3 mbar to 13±6 angstroms at 2×10-2 mbar. High-resolution RBS showed that metallic impurity contamination increased with increasing plasma pressure, whereas Ar atom incorporation in the near-surface region of etched Si followed the opposite pressure dependence. The barrier height of Pd Schottky contacts fabricated on the etched n-Si also decreased monotonically with decreasing Ar pressure, showing that the extent of barrier height modification was not affected by metallic impurity contamination. High-resolution RBS combined with channelling experiments showed that the topmost layers of the plasma-etched samples were disordered. The thickness of the damaged layers decreased with increasing plasma pressure.Keywords: Argon; Atomic force microscopy; Chemical modification; Contamination; Crystal impurities; Crystal orientation; Magnetron sputtering; Plasma etching; Pressure effects; Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy; Surface roughness; High resolution Rutherford ba199910.1002/(SICI)1096-9918(199910)27:10<881::AID-SIA644>3.0.CO;2-62015-12-12