Applications of AFM for atomic manipulation and spectroscopy

Since the first demonstration of atom-by-atom assembly [1], atomic manipulation with scanning tunneling microscopy has yielded stunning realizations in nanoscience. A new exciting panorama has been recently opened with the possibility of manipulating atoms at surfaces using atomic force microscopy (AFM) [2-5]. In this talk, we will present two different approaches that enable patterning structures at semiconductor surfaces by manipulating individual atoms with AFM and at room temperature [2, 3]. We will discuss the physics behind each protocol through the analysis of the measured forces associated with these manipulations [3-5]. Another challenging issue in scanning probe microscopy is the ability to disclose the local chemical composition of a multi-element system at atomic level. Here, we will introduce a single-atom chemical identification method, which is based on detecting the forces between the outermost atom of the AFM tip and the atoms at a surface [6]. We demonstrate this identification procedure on a particularly challenging system, where any discrimination attempt based solely on topographic measurements would be impossible to achieve. \\[4pt] \textbf{References}: \\[0pt] [1] D. M. Eigler and E. K. Schweizer, \textit{Nature} \textbf{344}, 524 (1990); \\[0pt] [2] Y. Sugimoto, M. Abe, S. Hirayama, N. Oyabu, O. Custance and S. Morita, \textit{Nature Materials} \textbf{4}, 156 (2005); \\[0pt] [3] Y. Sugimoto, P. Pou, O. Custance, P. Jelinek, M. Abe, R. Perez and S. Morita, \textit{Science} \textbf{322}, 413 (2008); \\[0pt] [4] Y. Sugimoto, P. Jelinek, P. Pou, M. Abe, S. Morita, R. Perez and O. Custance, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 106104 (2007); \\[0pt] [5] M. Ternes, C. P. Lutz, C. F. Hirjibehedin, F. J. Giessibl and A. J. Heinrich, \textit{Science} \textbf{319}, 1066 (2008); \\[0pt] [6] Y. Sugimoto, P. Pou, M. Abe, P. Jelinek, R. Perez, S. Morita, and O. Custance, \textit{Nature} \textbf{446}, 64 (2007)