Scanning tunneling microscopy and molecular orbital calculation of pentacene molecules adsorbed on the Si(100)2×1 surface

Adsorption of the organic molecule pentacene on Si(100)2×1 surfaces was imaged using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The molecular images exhibit distinct shapes corresponding to the expected shapes for adsorption configurations. Semi-empirical molecular orbital (MO) calculations reveal a local surface density of states for the adsorbed pentacene on the Si surface. In the cases where the pentacene molecule is adsorbed on an Si dimer row, the calculated MOs are in good agreement with the molecular images observed in STM. In the case of pentacene adsorbed on two or three Si-dimer rows, however, the MOs of the pentacene do not correlate directly with the observed STM images. It is thus considered that the STM images are produced by a combination of Si dimer states and MO.     

Nitridation of Si(100)-( 2x1) surface by NH3: a quantum chemical cluster model study

Based on density functional cluster model calculations, we present the first detailed mechanisms for the complete decomposition of NH3 to NHx(a) (x = 0-2) on the Si(100)-(2x1) surface. Three kinds of elementary processes, namely, N-H bond cleavage, NHx(a) insertion into the Si-Si surface dimer bond or backbond, and H2 libration, are investigated. A plausible microscopic mechanism for the nitridation of Si(100)-(2x1) surface by NH3 is proposed.     

吸附Al,Sn后Si(111)面的电子结构及其比较

通过对吸附原子和衬底Si原子由于相互作用而产生的轨道交叠占有几率(OOP)和集团态密度的分析发现吸附Al和吸附Sn的Si(111)面能带中电子的占据状态很不一样,Si(111)3^1/2×3^1/2-Sn中有一个半充满的表面带,从而使体系具有表面金属性。而Si(111)3^1/2×3^1/2-Al中电子填满吸附原子和表面Si原子成键的表面态,反键的表面态全空,因此吸Al后的Si(111)面可能出现半导体特性。计算结果与实验结果 关键词：     

Density Functional Calculation of the 0.5ML-Terminated Allyl Mercaptan/Si（100）-（2 × 1） Surface

The structural and electronic properties of the 0.5 ML-terminated allyl mercaptan （ALM）/Si（IO0）-（2 x 1） surface are studied using the density functional method. The calculated absorption energy of the ALM molecule on the 0.5 ML-terminated ALM/Si（IO0）-（2 x 1） surface is 3.36eV, implying that adsorption is strongly favorable. The electronic structure calculations show that the ALM/Si（IO0）-（2 x 1）, the clean Si（100）-（2 x 1）, and the fully-terminated H/Si（IO0）-（2 ~ 1） surfaces have the nature of an indirect band gap semiconductor. The highest occupied molecular orbital is dominated by the ALM, confirming the mechanism proposed by Hossain for its chain reaction.     

Chemisorption of cis-2-butene-1,4-diol on Si(100): A theoretical investigation

The adsorption structures of cis-2-butene-1,4-diol (C₄H₈O₂) on a Si(100) surface were investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The most stable configuration involves the adsorbed cis-2-butene-1,4-diol molecule with dissociated H forming a bridged structure between two surface Si atoms through dual O–Si bonding. The corresponding simulated images were able to explain previously reported experimental observations. The two stable bridged structures, either on-top or end-bridged, produced STM images consistent with the experimentally identified features.     

Role of interdimer interactions in NH3 dissociation on si(100)-(2x1)

The dissociation of NH3 on Si(100)-(2x1) is investigated by a combination of infrared absorption spectroscopy and density functional cluster calculations, revealing that this reaction is governed by a complex set of interdimer interactions involving both bare and adsorbate-covered Si dimers. We propose that such adsorbate-induced changes in the electronic structure of neighboring dimers may have general implications for controlling the two-dimensional ordering of reactions on the dimerized Si(100) surface.     

Nitroxyl free radical binding to Si(1 0 0): a combined scanning tunneling microscopy and computational modeling study

The ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (UHV-STM) was used to investigate the addition of the 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) radical to the Si(1 0 0) surface. Room temperature studies performed on clean Si(1 0 0)-2 × 1 confirm the proposed binding of the unpaired valence electron associated with the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) of the molecule with a Si dangling bond. A strong bias dependence in the topography of isolated molecules was observed in the range of −2.0 to +2.5 V. Semiempirical and density functional calculations of TEMPO bound to a three-dimer silicon cluster model yield occupied state density isosurfaces below the highest occupied (HOMO) and unoccupied state densities isosurfaces above the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) which trend in qualitative agreement with the bias dependent STM topography. Furthermore, the placement of TEMPO molecules on dangling bonds was controlled with atomic precision on the monohydride Si(1 0 0) surface via electron stimulated desorption of H, demonstrating the compatibility of nitroxyl free radical binding chemistries with nanopatterning techniques such as feedback controlled lithography.     

Douglas Henderson: a life in statistical mechanics

In a previous study (Wang, L. S., Nicholas, J. B., Dupuis, M., Wu, H., and Colson, S. D., 1997, Phys. Rev. Lett., 78, 4450) of small silicon oxide clusters with stochiometry Si3Oy(y = 1-6), it was found that the molecule Si3O2 and its anion required special theoretical attention. This is due to a particular electronic structure feature of the neutral cluster: the s,p hybrid atomic orbitals of the two bonded silicon atoms give rise to a low lying empty π molecular orbital. As a result the ground state of Si3O2 has a triplet spin, and a state of singlet spin is a low lying excited electronic state at about 0.5 eV above the triplet state. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations show that photoelectron detachment proceeds from the 2B1 state of the anion to the 3B1 ground state of the neutral cluster. Detachment via the 1A1 state of the neutral cluster lies in the shoulder of the detachment via the triplet state.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy of fluorinated fullerene molecules on silicon surfaces

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) under ultra-high vacuum conditions is used to study the initial stages of adsorption of C₆₀F₁₈ and C₆₀F₃₆ fluorofullerene molecules on Si(111)-7 x 7 and Si(100)-2 x 1 surfaces. Spatially resolved STM images of individual molecules and ab initio calculations show that the fluorofullerene molecules interact with an Si surface, with the F atoms oriented toward the surface. The large electric dipole moment of the molecules induces strong polarization on the surface, but the charge transfer is weak. The presence of C₆₀F₃₆ isomers with different symmetry—T, C ₃, and C ₁—is revealed in STM images for the first time.     

Structure determination of the Si3N4/Si(111)- (8 x 8) surface: a combined study of Kikuchi electron holography, scanning tunneling microscopy, and ab initio calculations

A comprehensive atomic model for the reconstructed surface of Si3N4 thin layer grown on Si(111) is presented. Kikuchi electron holography images clearly show the existence of adatoms on the Si3N4(0001)/Si(111)-(8x8) surface. Compared with the ab initio calculations, more than 30 symmetry-inequivalent atomic pairs in the outmost layers are successfully identified. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images show diamond-shaped unit cells and nine adatoms in each cell. High-resolution STM images reveal extra features and are in good agreement with the partial charge density distribution obtained from total-energy calculations.     

Soft phonon, dynamical fluctuations, and a reversible phase transition: indium chains on silicon

The In/Si(111)-(4 x 1) surface is a paradigmatic example of a quasi-one-dimensional system showing a reversible structural and electronic (metal-insulator) phase transition when the temperature is lowered. In this work, we use first-principles simulation techniques to uncover the atomic and electronic origin of this controversial transition. Our calculations show that the ground state consists of insulating (4 x 2) indium chains with a weak interchain coupling that induces opposite shear distortions in alternate chains. First-principles molecular dynamics simulations show that the (4 x 1) <--> (8 x 2) phase transition is due to the "dynamical fluctuations" the system undergoes when, at high temperature, it fluctuates chaotically between degenerate ground states. The metallicity of the In/Si(111)-(4 x 1) surface is related to the low energy cost for the shear distortion.     

洁净和氧吸附的Cu(100)表面重构的理论研究

在密度泛函理论下,计算了清洁和吸附氧原子的Cu(100)表面的驰豫和优势吸附构型。结果表明,氧原子在金属表面采用四重穴位时,具有最大的结合能,顶位吸附时结合能最小,桥位吸附时结合能居间。这一计算结果与实验报道一致。各种密度泛函方法的比较后,发现采用mPW1PW91密度泛函和LanL2dz赝势基组,能够准确给出与实验相符的计算结果。平板模型计算的分态密度图显示,在吸附过程中出现d轨道向Fermi能级移动并越过Fermi能级,而O原子的p轨道能级远离Fermi能级,表明有电子从铜原子的d轨道转移到氧原子的2p轨道,簇模型和平板模型的布居分析显示表面氧带有约0.65～0.7 e的负电荷。研究表明,采用适当的基组和泛函方法,即使采用簇模型来模拟表面,也可以获得与实验比较吻合的计算结果。     

Origin of the stability of Ge(105) on si: a new structure model and surface strain relaxation

The structure of Ge(105)-(1 x 2) grown on Si(105) is examined by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and first-principles calculations. The morphology evolution with an increasing amount of Ge deposited documents the existence of a tensile surface strain in Si(105) and its relaxation with increasing coverage of Ge. A detailed analysis of high-resolution STM images and first-principles calculations produce a new stable model for the Ge(105)-(1 x 2) structure formed on the Si(105) surface that includes the existence of surface strain. It corrects the model developed from early observations of the facets of "hut" clusters grown on Si(001).     

Theoretical consideration on dimer vacancy images in the STM observations of Si(001) surfaces in terms of the adsorption of O2 molecules

Geometric and electronic structures of dimers on the Si(001)-2 × 1 reconstructed surfaces before and after O₂ adsorption have been investigated with an ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculation at the Hartree-Fock level. The theoretically predicted electron tunneling current in the dimer before and after O₂ adsorption has strongly suggested that the O₂-adsorbed dimer on clean Si(001) surfaces is observed as dark in the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images. The dark spot images which have so far been recognized to be a dimer vacancy type defect could be due to the O₂ adsorption in parallel to a Si dimer.     

Semiconducting surface reconstructions of p-type Si(100) substrates at 5 K

We report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of the technologically important Si(100) surface that reveal at 5 K the coexistence of stable surface domains consisting of the p(2 x 1) reconstruction along with the c(4 x 2) and p(2 x 2) reconstructions. Using highly resolved tunneling spectroscopic measurements and tight binding calculations, we prove that the p(2 x 1) reconstruction is asymmetric and determine the mechanism that enables the contrast variation observed in the formation of the bias-dependent STM images for this reconstruction.     

The adsorption of nitric oxide on a silicon (100) 2 × 1 surface studied with Auger electron spectroscopy

We present an Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) study of the adsorption of nitric oxide (NO) on a clean Si(100)2 × 1 surface at 300 and 550 K. Accurate measurement reeveal well resolved fine structure at Auger SiL_2.3VV transitions at 62 and 83 eV. These peaks can be attributed to SiO and SiN bonds. Furthermore, it is argued that the broadening in the SiLi_2.3VV Auger transition at 83 eV at 300 K may be composed of two nearby peaks, which could be attributed to two different kinds of chemical bonding, SiN and SiO. The absence of a peak at 69 eV at room temperature strongly suggests the NO adsorption on a Si(100)2 × 1 surface to be molecular. Dissociation of NO on the Si(100)2 × 1 surface is observed at 550 K.     

Study of Si and C adatoms and SiC clusters on the silicon surface by the molecular dynamics method

Individual Si and C adatoms, as well as SiC clusters, on a Si surface are simulated by the molecular dynamics method in the course of investigation of the initial stages of formation of a SiC layer on silicon with the help of molecular beam epitaxy. The potential energy surfaces for Si and C adatoms on the (2 × 1) reconstructed Si(001) surface and on the nonreconstructed Si(111) surface, as well as on the Si(111) surface with a SiC cluster, are calculated and analyzed. The values of migration barriers for adatoms on these surfaces are calculated. The effect of the SiC cluster on deformation of the surface region of Si(111) and on the migration of adatoms is investigated. The deep minima observed on the potential energy surfaces immediately above a cluster and at its boundaries can trap diffusing adatoms. The distributions of stresses and strains in the silicon lattice under a cluster on the surface are studied and described.     

Monohydride and dihydride formation at Si(100) 2x1: A high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy study

Results from EELS and LEED investigations on the interaction of atomic hydrogen with the Si(100) 2x1 surface give direct evidence for the formation of two distinct surface phases: a monohydride Si(100) 2x1:H and a dihydride Si(100) 1x1::2H phase. Temperature and exposure time determine which of the two phases appears. An analysis of normal vibrational modes leads to an identification of hydrogen adsorption complexes in both phases.     

New structural model for Si/SiO2 interfaces derived from spherosiloxane clusters: implications for Si 2p photoemission spectroscopy

In this Letter, we investigate the Si/SiO(2) interface structure formed by the chemisorption of H8Si8O12 and other spherosiloxane clusters on Si(100). Using transition state calculations, we clearly demonstrate that the clusters do not bond to the Si(100) surface via single vertex attachment as proposed previously, but rather attach via Si-O bond cleavage. This alternative cracked cluster geometry allows us to predict the photoemission features of spherosiloxane clusters on Si(100) without invoking second nearest neighbor effects.