Scalable patterning of one-dimensional dangling bond chains on hydrogenated Si(001) surfaces

Silicon dangling bonds exposed on monohydride silicon (001) surface are highly reactive, and enable site selective absorption of atoms and single molecules into specific patterns designed into Si(001):H surfaces through the controlled removal of hydrogen atoms. Current implementations of such hydrogen lithography rely on painstaking removal of hydrogen atoms using the tip of a scanning probe microscope. Here, we present a scalable thermal process that yields very long chains of dimer wide silicon dangling bonds to self-assemble atoms and molecules into one-dimensional structures of unprecedented length on Si(001):H.