Growth of native oxide and accumulation of organic matter on bare Si wafer in air

This letter reports the effect of organic matter on the growth of native oxide on a Si surface. Bare Si wafers and Si wafers with native oxide were stored under various conditions in a clean room and the thickness of native oxide was examined. In the case of the bare Si wafers, the native oxide hardly grew in a closed system but the native oxide grew to 6 Å in an open system when the storage time was 24 h. On the other hand, in the case of Si wafers with native oxide, this suggests that accumulation of organic matter occurs on Si wafers in the open system in the clean room. It was suggested that the accumulation of organic matter on Si wafers facilitates the growth of native oxide.