Chemical Synthesis of Ideal Electronic Surfaces on Silicon and Other Semiconductors

In the past decade semiconductor surface science has successfully studied the electronic structure and reconstructions of totally bare semiconductor surfaces. Recently experimentalists have begun to assume a more active role 1,2 in modifying surface chemical structures to passivate the surface, i.e., to render the surface states electronically inactive. We can expect that this work will evolve more and more toward the artificial synthesis of surface chemical-bonding structres with desired physical properties. From the point of view of electronics, it is desirable to covalently satisfy all surface bonds, thereby shifting the surface states out of the band gap and into the valence and conduction bands.