Towards hybrid silicon-organic molecular electronics: The stability of acetone on the Si(0 0 1) surface

We present the results of a combined study using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) of the interaction of acetone [(CH3)2CO] with the Si(0 0 1) surface. Three distinct adsorbate features were observed using atomic-resolution STM. One of the features appears as a bright protrusion located above a Si–Si dimer, while the other two are asymmetric about the dimer row and involve a second neighboring Si–Si dimer. One of the two asymmetric features has a protrusion located between the two dimers, while the other has a protrusion which is located at the site of a single dimer and exhibits a dimer sized depression on the adjacent dimer. DFT calculations have been performed for two structures; the four-membered ring structure and dissociation structure. Our calculations show that the bright single-dimer sized feature observed in the STM images could be attributed to either of these two calculated structures. However, neither of the two calculated structures can explain the appearance of the two-dimer wide asymmetric features observed in the experiment.