In the 1970s, there was tremendous interest and research going on to understand the atomic structure and electrical properties of silicon surfaces, as their fundamental properties were still unknown and widely debated. While crystalline silicon has been long studied, surfaces as well as thin layers of silicon also play an important role in technology advancements, as here lies the “active” element in all electrical devices. This has enabled enormous computing capabilities that have reshaped our world by allowing us to process vast amounts of data, and has provided continuous access to valuable information. When one refers to “semiconductor technology”, it is all about fabricating electronic devices on a silicon crystal, which is usually sliced off a big crystal to form thin wafers. Silicon has ushered in what is known as “the silicon revolution”, which has transformed our society and pervades every corner of our daily lives. It became the preferred material for electronic devices due to its very low power consumption and our ability to fabricate small circuits and integrate them functionally on small chips. Interest in silicon picked up in the mid 1950s when silicon transistors were developed to replaced vacuum tubes. It is the seventh most abundant element in the universe and by mass, the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust.
Silicon was first identified in 1824 by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius. However, recent results have disrupted what we thought we knew about the element, and, in particular, its surfaces. Surely by now researchers should know everything there is to know about silicon.