The valence band (VB) and the 2p core level of the Si(1 1 0) surface have been investigated as a function of the temperature starting from the “16×2” reconstruction at room temperature up to 1630 K which is close to the Si melting point (1683 K). The “16×2”→(1×1) phase transition at about 1000 K causes a sudden shift of the Si 2p core level spectra. It is associated to a change of the surface band bending and to a change of the surface Si 2p components. The transition is also observed in the VB spectra as a change of their shape and of the emission intensity at the Fermi level. Other changes in the surface structure are detected at about 1320 K. No evidence for a sudden surface melting has been found.
