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Particles and Fields

EPJ AP Review - Imaging, single atom contact and single atom manipulations at low temperature

The LT-UHV-4-STM head and a 5.12 x 5.12 nm2 STM image of a letter C constructed atom by atom with 6 Au ad-atoms on Au(111) using here scanner PS3. I = 50 pA, V = 500 mV with ΔZ = 0.12 nm. Single atom manipulations tunnel resistance: 333 KΩ.

The new ScientaOmicron LT-UHV scanning tunneling microscope is installed at Pico-Lab CEMES-CNRS (Toulouse) with its 4 STM scanners performing on the same surface. At 4.3 K, we report state-of-the-art STM experiments on Au(111) usually performed on the most stable single tip LT-UHV scanning tunneling microscopes.

Operating the 4 scanners independently or in parallel with an inter tip apex distance lower than 100 nm, the ΔZ stability is better than 2 pm per STM. Single Au atom manipulations were performed on Au(111) recording the pulling, sliding or pushing signal. When contacting one Au ad-atom, a jump to contact leads to a perfect linear low voltage I-V characteristics with no averaging. Two tips surface conductance measurements were also performed with one lock-in and in a floating sample mode to capture the Au(111) surface states via two STM tips dI/dV characteristics. This new instrument is exactly 4 times as precise as a single tip LT-UHV STM.

Editors-in-Chief
E. Dudas, M. Elsing, F. Forti, J. Monroe, D.J. Schwarz and G. Zanderighi

We are very thankful to you and our referee for your work! Especially we are thankful to the referee. His work has been done at a high professional level!

V. Uzhinsky, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia

ISSN: 1434-6052 (Electronic Edition)

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