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Atomic force microscopy as a tool for atom manipulation

Abstract

During the past 20 years, the manipulation of atoms and molecules at surfaces has allowed the construction and characterization of model systems that could, potentially, act as building blocks for future nanoscale devices. The majority of these experiments were performed with scanning tunnelling microscopy at cryogenic temperatures. Recently, it has been shown that another scanning probe technique, the atomic force microscope, is capable of positioning single atoms even at room temperature. Here, we review progress in the manipulation of atoms and molecules with the atomic force microscope, and discuss the new opportunities presented by this technique.

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Figure 1: | Lateral-interchange atomic manipulation with an AFM.
Figure 2: | Vertical-interchange atomic manipulation.
Figure 3: | Atomic-scale manipulation at surfaces of insulating bulk materials.
Figure 4: | Tip–surface interaction forces and potential maps during atom manipulation76.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank M. Ternes, A. Heinrich and T. Trevethan for providing graphic material. Work supported by Grants in Aid for Science Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain (MICINN, projects MAT2008–02929–NAN and MAT2008–02939–E) and by the Friction and Adhesion in Nanomechanical Systems (FANAS) Programme of the European Science Foundation under the Atomic Friction (AFRI) project.

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Custance, O., Perez, R. & Morita, S. Atomic force microscopy as a tool for atom manipulation. Nature Nanotech 4, 803–810 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.347

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