The scanning tunnelling microscope as an operative tool: doing physics and chemistry with single atoms and molecules.
The scanning tunnelling microscope, initially invented to image surfaces down to the atomic scale, has been further developed in the last few years to an operative tool, with which atoms and molecules can be manipulated at will at low substrate temperatures in different manners to create and investigate artificial structures, whose properties can be investigated employing spectroscopic dI/dV measurements. The tunnelling current can be used to selectively break chemical bonds, but also to induce chemical association. These possibilities give rise to startling new opportunities for physical and chemical experiments on the single atom and single molecule level. Here we provide a short overview on recent results obtained with these techniques.
Fachbereich Physik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany. rieder@physik.fu-berlin.de
Karl-Heinz
KH
Rieder
Gerhard
G
Meyer
Saw-Wai
SW
Hla
Francesca
F
Moresco
Kai F
KF
Braun
Karina
K
Morgenstern
Jascha
J
Repp
Stefan
S
Foelsch
Ludwig
L
Bartels
D008832:Microchemistry / Q000379:methods*; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000379:methods*; D016252:Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling / Q000379:methods*; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D010825:Physics / Q000379:methods; D013314:Stress, Mechanical