Coverage dependence of K adsorption on Si(100)2×1 by core-level photoemission: Structure, charge transfer, and metallization

Using core-level photoemission, a coverage-dependent transition in the adsorption of K on Si(100)2×1 is observed. Below ∼0.25 monolayers, a single adsorption is occupied, the asymmetry of the Si-dimer reconstruction is enhanced, and no more than ∼0.05e is transferred from K to Si. Above this coverage, multiple sites are occupied, the dimer configuration becomes more symmetric, and the K overlayer becomes increasingly metallic. These findings resolve a number of conflicting studies of this system.