Modifications of cubic SiC surfaces studied by ab initio simulations: From gas adsorption to organic functionalization

The ability to manipulate semiconductor surfaces and interfaces has gained significant attention in the past few years, in particular to design novel routes for the development of sensors and new materials, like intelligent tissues, for bio-physics applications. In this paper, we review some recent results on the atomic manipulation of cubic Silicon Carbide (SiC) surfaces, as obtained by ab initio simulations, and compare them with the available experimental data. Main focus will be the study of the interaction and adsorption mechanism of simple molecules on SiC surfaces. SiC, and in particular the cubic polytype, is a wide-gap semiconductor, that for its inertness and transparency has been and still is considered a leading candidate material for biocompatible devices.