This collaborative research project involves a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota and Vanderbilt University. Using the free electron laser facility at Vanderbilt, they are systematically exploring the mechanism of mode specific desorption of hydrogen molecules from silicon and diamond surfaces. Support from the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program enables this collaborative research. An understanding of the mechanism of this desorption phenomena impacts our fundamental understanding of chemical reaction dynamics, and may have implications for the growth and processing of silicon electronic devices. A systematic study of the desorption process, varying free electron laser wavelength, temporal parameters, and surface conditions, coupled with tunneling microscopy examination of the surface, is being used to sort out this unusual mechanism.
