Investigation of fullerene embedded silicon surfaces with scanning probe microscopy

This study examines the intramolecular structures of individual fullerene molecules on a Si(111)-7 x 7 surface using an ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscope. This study also discusses possible configurations of fullerene molecules with related orientations and electronic states of fullerene. A self-assembled layer of fullerene on a Si(111) surface is produced using special annealing treatments. The resulting electronic states and band gap energy can be estimated from I-V curves. Finally the field emission parameters, such as turn-on field and field enhancement factor beta, are determined using a traditional detecting system.