Interplay between adsorbed C60 fullerenes and point defects on a Si(111)–In reconstructed surface

Adsorption of C60 onto Si(111) 3 × 3 –In surface presents a fascinating example of interplay between molecular adsorbate and surface structural defects. It has been found that adsorbing C60 molecules are trapped by the substitutional Si-defects. In turn, the group of a few adsorbed C60 can act as a trap for the mobile vacancies of the 3 × 3 –In reconstruction. Namely, adsorbed C60 induces a strain in the indium layer, and when a mobile vacancy happens to get into the surface area surrounded by fullerenes, the In atoms between the C60 and the vacancy shift from the T4 to the H3 sites, fixing a vacancy in a given location.