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Atom inlays performed at room temperature using atomic force microscopy

Abstract

The ability to manipulate single atoms and molecules laterally for creating artificial structures on surfaces1 is driving us closer to the ultimate limit of two-dimensional nanoengineering2,3. However, experiments involving this level of manipulation have been performed only at cryogenic temperatures. Scanning tunnelling microscopy has proved, so far, to be a unique tool with all the necessary capabilities for laterally pushing, pulling or sliding4 single atoms and molecules, and arranging them on a surface at will. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, that it is possible to perform well-controlled lateral manipulations of single atoms using near-contact atomic force microscopy5,6,7 even at room temperature. We report the creation of 'atom inlays', that is, artificial atomic patterns formed from a few embedded atoms in the plane of a surface. At room temperature, such atomic structures remain stable on the surface for relatively long periods of time.

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Figure 1: Induced directional diffusion of the Sn adatoms in the Ge(111)-c(2×8) surface.
Figure 2: Sequence of topographic images illustrating the method for the controlled lateral manipulation of substitutional Sn adatoms in the Ge(111)-c(2×8) surface.
Figure 3: Final topographic NC-AFM image of the process of rearranging single atoms for the construction, at room temperature, of 'an atom inlay'.
Figure 4: Topographic NC-AFM images showing the lateral manipulation of a substitutional Sn adatom farther than its first neighbouring adatom positions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Rubén Peréz for the careful revision of the manuscript. This material is based on work supported by the Handai Frontier Research Center, by the Active Nano-Characterization and Technology Project, and by a Grant in Aid for Science Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

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Correspondence to Óscar Custance.

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Sugimoto, Y., Abe, M., Hirayama, S. et al. Atom inlays performed at room temperature using atomic force microscopy. Nature Mater 4, 156–159 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1297

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