Abstract
The control of the dissociative adsorption of individual hydrogen molecules is performed on the silicon surface at the atomic scale. It is achieved using the tip of a low-temperature (9 K) scanning tunneling microscope (STM) exposed to 10 torr of H and by probing the bare Si(100)-2 × 1 surface at a positive bias. This effect is very localized and is induced by the tunnel electrons. The statistical study of this process reveals an activation energy threshold matching the creation of at the surface of the STM tip. Our results are supported by ab inito density functional calculations of a hydrogenated silicon dimer.
- Received 7 May 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.165441
©2012 American Physical Society