Molecular oxygen on the Si(111)-7X7 surface -: art. no. 045304

The adsorption of neutral molecular oxygen at room temperature on the Si(111)-7x7 surface has for more than 20 years been a central issue in physics and chemistry as it offers a unique model system for surface reactions with a maximum number of observable parameters. A comprehensive set of new details of this system come from synchrotron radiation induced photoelectron spectroscopy, in terms of changes of the population of the surface states and of the number of chemically shifted atoms at the surface. The reaction steps between oxygen molecules and different surface bonds and atoms in the unit cell are now followed in full detail including the existence of a stable molecular configuration up to exposures of 6 L.