Adsorption and thermal decomposition of C60 on Co/Si(111)-7 7

We present a study on the adsorption and thermal decomposition of C60 on Co covered Si(111)-7 7 using scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Co-induced magic clusters grown on Si(111)-7 7 are identified as a possible adsorption site where 51 3% of C60 molecules adsorb at room temperature. On Co/Si(111)-7 7, C60 molecules start to decompose at 450 8C, and are completely dissociated to form SiC by 720 8C. This temperature is significantly lower than 910 8C at which C60 completely dissociates on clean Si(111)-7 7. This is a possible low temperature method for growing crystalline SiC films using C60 as a precursor molecule