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A quantitative model is proposed for the description of the oxidation kinetics in air at room temperature of single crystalline, hydrogen-terminated, (1 0 0) silicon. The theory separates the growth kinetics of the interfacial suboxide from those of the outer stoichiometric oxide. The theory proceeds assuming that the suboxide grows along the surface at the border of oxidized-silicon clusters, while the formation of the stoichiometric oxide takes place on the top of the suboxide at a rate decaying exponentially with the oxide thickness. In these hypotheses the kinetics of suboxide formation are found to depend on the initial concentration of (defective) oxo groups, while the growth of the stoichiometric oxide is described by the Elovich equation both in the short- and long-time limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]