The intermediates of thermal decomposition of 1,3-disilabutane (SiH3CH2SiH2CH3, DSB) to form SiC on Si(1 0 0) surface were in situ investigated by reactive ion scattering (RIS), temperature programmed reactive ion scattering (TPRIS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), and auger electron spectroscopy (AES). DSB as a single molecular precursor was exposed on Si(1 0 0) surface at a low temperature less than 100 K, and then the substrate was heated up to 1000 K. RIS, TPD, and AES investigations showed that DSB adsorbed molecularly and decomposed to SiC via some intermediates on Si(1 0 0) surface as substrate temperature increasing. Between 117 and 150 K molecularly adsorbed DSB desorbed partially and decomposed to CH4Si2, which is the first observation on Si(1 0 0) surface, and further decomposed to CH4Si between 150 and 900 K. CH4Si lost hydrogen and formed SiC over 900 K. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.