Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Surface Oxidation Kinetics of SiC Powders in Wet and Dry Air Studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Bremsstrahlung-Excited Auger Electron Spectroscopy

Published

Author(s)

T N. Wittberg, P S. Wang, Stephen M. Hsu

Abstract

Silicon carbide powder samples were heated at temperatures between 600 C and 850 C in wet and dry air to investigate the effect of moisture on the oxidation kinetics. Equations were derived to calculate the surface oxide thickness from both the Si 2p XPS spectra and from the Si KLL Bremsstrahlung-Excited Auger spectra. The oxide film growth rates are shown to be parabolic. The film thickness formed during oxidation in wet air was larger than that in the dry air for the same temperature and heating time. The activation energy for wet oxidation was found to be significantly lower that that for dry oxidation within this temperature range.
Citation
Surface and Interface Analysis
Volume
35
Issue
No. 10

Keywords

silicon carbide, surface oxidation, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Citation

Wittberg, T. , Wang, P. and Hsu, S. (2003), Surface Oxidation Kinetics of SiC Powders in Wet and Dry Air Studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Bremsstrahlung-Excited Auger Electron Spectroscopy, Surface and Interface Analysis (Accessed May 3, 2024)
Created September 30, 2003, Updated October 12, 2021