Surface vibrational spectroscopy studies of aromatic-molecule fragmentation on silicon surfaces

Abstract
Cleaved Si(111)2×1 surfaces exhibit a high reactivity when exposed to a thiophene atmosphere. This is similar to the high reactivity of Si(111)2×1 when exposed to other aromatic molecules, and is completely atypical with respect to other semiconductor substrates. In the case of thiophene adsorption, we also observe the annealing-induced fragmentation of the molecule, which is interpreted in terms of a desulfurization process.