Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of C60 on the Si(111)7×7 Surface

Abstract
Adsorption of C60 molecules on the Si(111)7×7 surface was investigated using a field ion-scanning tunneling microscope. C60 adsorbs preferentially on the faulted half of the 7×7 unit and stays still without rotation at room temperature, implying the reasonably strong interaction with the Si substrate. The internal structure of individual C60 molecules can be understood if we assume that the C=C double bonds are imaged brightly. Unlike the case of its adsorption on the Si(100)2×1 surface, C60 do not form ordered mono/multi layers on the 7×7 surface.