Laser irradiated Si(100) surfaces were studied with an ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) system. Our observations indicate that only the dimerized outermost atomic layer is removed if the laser fluence is below the melting threshold with a photon energy larger than the band gap. The newly exposed layer, surprisingly, did not have a dimerized atomic structure, but rather, resembled that of a bulk-terminated structure. The uncovered layer remained atomically smooth (no vacancies) even after 90% of the outermost layer was removed. A possible explanation of these observations is that atom removal occurs by a preferential breakage of the atomic bonds in defect sites. When the laser fluence was increased to levels above the melting threshold, extensive surface roughening occurs
