High resolution photoemission study of C60 on Si(111) as a precursor of SiC growth

We characterized the room temperature (RT) growth of C60 on the Si(111) (7×7) surface and the SiC formation upon annealing using high resolution photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. Si 2p core level spectra for RT C60 deposition unambiguously show the strong attenuation of the rest-atoms components and the growth of at least one new component at 1 ML coverage. This new component grows with annealing temperature and at T>1020 K an abrupt change occurs, corresponding to the formation of SiC, as confirmed by the C 1s core level emission.