title: Interplay between Switching Driven by the Tunneling Current and Atomic Force of a Bistable Four-Atom Si Quantum Dot.
abstract: We assemble bistable silicon quantum dots consisting of four buckled atoms (Si4-QD) using atom manipulation. We demonstrate two competing atom switching mechanisms, downward switching induced by tunneling current of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and opposite upward switching induced by atomic force of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Simultaneous application of competing current and force allows us to tune switching direction continuously. Assembly of the few-atom Si-QDs and controlling their states using versatile combined AFM/STM will contribute to further miniaturization of nanodevices.
authors.affiliation: †The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, 8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.affiliation: ‡Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: ‡Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.affiliation: ¶Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-1 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: §Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Cukrovarnická 10/112, Prague, 162 00, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zobač
authors.affiliation: ∥Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pou
authors.affiliation: ∥Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.affiliation: §Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Cukrovarnická 10/112, Prague, 162 00, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Pingo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mutombo
authors.affiliation: ∥Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.affiliation: ‡Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.|§Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Cukrovarnická 10/112, Prague, 162 00, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jelínek
authors.affiliation: †The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, 8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Seizo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morita
keywords: Atomic manipulation; Si quantum dot; atomic switch; density functional theory; noncontact atomic force microscopy; scanning tunneling microscopy