2023 Impact factor 2.8

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
B. Fraboni and G. García López
It is a great pleasure to receive your message regarding the acceptance of our manuscript for publication in EPJPlus. We deeply appreciate the quick review of the manuscript and sincerely thank you and others in the EPJP Editorial Office. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the referee for his positive review and his nice words.

Kourosh Afrousheh, Safat, Kuwait

ISSN: 2190-5444 (Electronic Edition)

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