Hydrogen inserted into the Si(100)-2x1-H surface: A first-principles study

Abstract

An H atom inserted into hydrogen monolayer on the Si(100)-2x1 surface has been studied using the density functional theory. Hydrogen-induced defects were considered in their neutral, negative, and positive charge states. It was found that hydrogen atom forms a dihydride unit on the surface in the most stable neutral and negative charge states. Hydrogen located in the groove between dimer rows and bonded with a second-layer Si atom is also one of the most stable negative charge states. In the positive charge state, hydrogen forms a three-center bond inside a Si dimer, Si-H-Si, similar to the bulk case. A comparison of simulated scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images with experimental data available in the literature showed that neutral and negatively charged hydrogen-induced defects were already observed in experiments. The results reveal that the adsorption position of an H atom inserted into the Si(100)-2x1-H surface is determined by the charge state of the hydrogen-induced defect.