Vertical atomic manipulation with dynamic atomic-force microscopy without tip change via a multi-step mechanism

• Published in: Nature communications 2014-07, Vol.5 (1), p.4476, Article 4476
• Main Authors: Bamidele, J., Lee, S.H., Kinoshita, Y., Turanský, R., Naitoh, Y., Li, Y.J., Sugawara, Y., Štich, I., Kantorovich, L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 119/118; 639/766/36; 639/766/930/328/1262; 639/925; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5476

Manipulation is the most exciting feature of the non-contact atomic force microscopy technique as it allows building nanostructures on surfaces. Usually vertical manipulations are accompanied by an abrupt tip modification leading to a change of contrast. Here we report on low-temperature experiments demonstrating vertical manipulations of ‘super’-Cu atoms on the p (2 × 1) Cu(110):O surface, both extractions to and depositions from the tip, when the imaging contrast remains the same. These results are rationalized employing a novel and completely general method that combines density functional theory calculations for obtaining energy barriers as a function of tip height and a Kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm for studying the tip dynamics and extraction of manipulation statistics. The model reveals a novel multi-step manipulation mechanism combining activated jumps of ‘super’-Cu atoms to/from the tip with their drag by and diffusion on the tip. Understanding vertical manipulation mechanisms in atomic-force microscopy applications is a serious challenge. Here, the authors report vertical extraction and deposition processes of copper atoms at an oxidized copper surface, and rationalize the processes with a multi-step manipulation mechanism.