Reversible Vertical Manipulations of Single Pt Adatom on Pt（111） Surface with a Triple-Apex Tip

With a triple-apex tip, we investigate theoretically the vertical manipulation of single Pt adatom on the Pt（111） surface. The adatom adsorbed on the f cc site of the flat Pt（111） surface can be transferred vertically to the tip by adjusting the tip height properly. Moreover, based on the strong vertical trapping ability and the relatively weak lateral trapping ability of the tip, we propose a simple method to realize a reversible vertical manipulation of the Pt adatom from the highly coordinated sites, the kink and the step sites, of the stepped Pt（111） surface. All the vertical manipulations are completed using only the atomic force between the tip and the adatom, without the electric field.     

Influence of Pb adatom on adsorption of oxygen molecules on Pb(111) surface: a first-principles study

Using first-principles calculations, we systematically study the influence of Pb adatom on the adsorption and the dissociation of oxygen molecules on Pb(111) surface, to explore the effect of a point defect on the oxidation of the Pb(111) surface. We find that when an oxygen molecule is adsorbed near an adatom on the Pb surface, the molecule will be dissociated without any obvious barriers, and the dissociated O atoms bond with both the adatom and the surface Pb atoms. The adsorption energy in this situation is much larger than that on a clean Pb surface. Besides, for an adsorbed oxygen molecule on a clean Pb surface, a diffusing Pb adatom can also change its adsorption state and enlarge the adsorption energy for O, but it does not make the oxygen molecule dissociated. And in this situation, there is a molecule-like PbO2 cluster formed on the Pb surface.     

Material transport in dip-pen nanolithography

Dip-pen na.nolithography （DPN） is a useful method for directly printing materials on surfaces with sub-50nm resolution. Because it, involves the physical transport of materials from a scanning probe tip to a surface and the subsequent chemical interaction of that material with the surface, there are many factors to consider when attempting to understand DPN. In this review, we overview the physical and chemical processes that are known to play a role in DPN, Through a detailed review of the literature, we classify inks into three general categories based on their transport properties, and highlight the myriad ways that. DPN can be used to perform chemistry at the tip of a scanning probe.     

First-Principles Calculations of Atomic and Electronic Properties of T1 and In on Si（111）

The atomic and electronic structures of T1 and In on Si（111） surfaces are investigated using the firstprinciples total energy calculations. Total energy optimizations show that the energetically favored structure is 1/3 ML T1 adsorbed at the T4 sites on Si（111） surfaces. The adsorption energy difference of one T1 adatom between （√3 × √3） and （1 × 1） is less than that of each In adatom. The DOS indicates that TI 6p and Si 3p electrons play a very important role in the formation of the surface states. It is concluded that the bonding of TI adatoms on Si（111） surfaces is mainly polar covalent, which is weaker than that of In on Si（111）. So T1 atom is more easy to be migrated than In atom in the same external electric field and the structures of T1 on Si（111） is prone to switch between （√3 × √3） and （1 × 1）.     

Adsorption of L-Alanine on Cu（111） Studied by Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy

The adsorption of L-alanine on Cu（111） surface is studied by means of scanning tunnelling microscopy under ultra-high vacuum conditions. The results show that the adsorbates are chemisorbed on the surface, and can form a two-dimensional gas phase, chain phase and solid phase, depending on deposition rate and amount. The adsorbed molecules can be imaged as individual protrusions and parallel chains in gas and chain phases respectively. It is also found that alanine can form （2 × 2） superstructure on Cu（111） and copper step facet to （110） directions in solid phase. On the basis of our scanning tunnelling microscopic images, a model is proposed for the Cu（111）（2 ×2）-alanine superstructure. In the model, we point out the close link between （110）-direction hydrogen bond chains with the same direction copper step faceting.     

Effect of CO2 Addition on Preparation of Diamond Films by Direct-Current Hot-Cathode Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition Method

Diamond films are deposited on Mo substrates by dc hot-cathode plasma chemical vapor deposition method using a CH4-H2-CO2 gas mixture. Adjusting the flow of CO2, we study the relevant influence on surface morphology, grain orientation and crystalline quality of films with scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The results show that grain orientation of the films has a transition with the increasing CO2 addition, from （100） orientation to （110） orientation and then （111） orientation. The crystalline quality is improved but the growth rate is decreased by raising the flow of CO2. The experimental results are also discussed briefly.     

A Thin Liquid Film and Its Effects in an Atomic Force Microscopy Measurement

Recently, it has been observed that a liquid film spreading on a sample surface will significantly distort atomic force microscopy （AFM） measurements. In order to elaborate on the effect, we establish an equation governing the deformation of liquid film under its interaction with the AFM tip and substrate. A key issue is the critical liquid bump height yoc, at which the liquid film jumps to contact the AFM tip. It is found that there are three distinct regimes in the variation of yoc with film thickness H, depending on Hamaker constants of tip, sample and liquid. Noticeably, there is a characteristic thickness H^＊ physically defining what a thin film is; namely, once the film thickness H is the same order as H^＊, the effect of film thickness should be taken into account. The value of H^＊ is dependent on Hamaker constants and liquid surface tension as well as tip radius.     

Mueller-Matrix-Based Differential Rotation Method for Precise Measurement of Fiber Birefringence Vector

The method of complete polar decomposition for arbitrary Mueller matrixes is introduced to analyze the birefringence vector induced in a fiber, and then based on the Mueller matrix （MM） method, three kinds of computation methods including the absolute, the relative, and the differential rotation methods are proposed and investigated in detail. A computer-controlled measure system is employed to measure the Mueller matrix and birefringence vector for a 2.5-km fiber system with length 5 mm under lateral press in complicated environment with much perturbation. Experimental results show that the differential rotation （DR） method is the optimal approach to achieve fiber birefringence vectors in a large dynamic range of lateral press on fibers in perturbed situations, which reaches the highest linearity of 0.9998 and average deviation below 2.5%. Further analyses demonstrate that the DR method is also available for accurate orientation of lateral press direction and the average deviation is about 1.1°.     

Single atomic manipulation and writing with scanning tunnelling microscopy at low temperatures

In the work reported in this paper,we have used a low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscope (LT-STM) system to manipulate accurately single atoms.We show how we can use a LT-STM to image and modify a bulk Ag(111) surface and manipulate Ag atoms from substrate and evaporated adsorbates on Ag(111) substrates.We present a synergistic combination of SM-induced modification and ordered arrays of nanometre-scale structures.In particular,we demonstrate the ability to modify Ag atomic nanometre structures on the Ag(111) substrate,and some English letters and a Chinese character can be written by single Ag atoms coming from the substrate and evaporated adsorbates on Ag(111),In this way ,we supply an effective basis to explore the fundamental physical properties of a nanometre structure and to develop nanotechnology with a bottom-up approach,     

Theoretical model and quantification of reflectance photometer

The surface morphology of lateral flow （LF） strip is examined by scanning electron microscope （SEM） and the diffuse reflection of porous strip with or without nanogold particles is investigated. Based on the scattering and absorption of nanogold particles, a reflectance photometer is developed for quantification of LF strip with nanogold particles as reporter. The integration of reflection optical density is to indicate the signals of test line and control line. As an example, serial dilutions of microalbunminuria （MAU） solution are used to calibrate the performance of the reflectance photometer. The dose response curve is fitted with a four-parameter logistic mathematical model for the determination of an unknown MAU concentration. The response curve spans a dynamic range of 5 to 200 μg/ml. The developed reflectance photometer can realize simple and quantitative detection of analyte on nanogold-labeled LF strip.     

Reliable lateral manipulation of a single Ag adatom on a Ag(1 1 1) surface with a trimer-apex tip

We study the reliability of the lateral manipulation of a single Ag adatom on a Ag(1 1 1) surface with the single-atom and trimer-apex tips based on molecular statics simulations using surface embedded-atom-method potential. The dependence of the manipulation reliability on tip height and orientation is investigated. For the single-atom tip the manipulation reliability increases monotonically with decreasing tip height, which is owing to the strengthened lateral tip-adatom interaction as the tip height lowers. For the trimer-apex tip, the manipulation reliability is sensitive to the tip orientation in the lower tip-height range, while in the higher tip-height range the manipulation reliability is independent of the tip orientation and moreover can be greatly improved due to the strong vertical attraction of the tip on the adatom as compared to the single-atom tip. We also compare these results to those for manipulating single Cu adatoms on the Cu(1 1 1) surface, reveal the underlying physics, and propose the method to improve the manipulation reliability for different systems.     

Lateral manipulation of small clusters on the Cu and Ag(1 1 1) surfaces with the single-atom and trimer-apex tips: Reliability study

We study the reliability of the lateral manipulation of small Cu clusters (dimer and trimer) on the flat Cu(1 1 1) surface with both the single-atom and trimer-apex tips and that for the Ag/Ag(1 1 1) system, and compare the results between the two systems as well as with the single-atom manipulation on these surfaces. Manipulations are simulated using molecular statics method with semi-empirical potentials. The dependence of the manipulation reliability on the tip height and tip orientation are investigated. Overall, the manipulation reliability increases with decreasing tip height although it depends obviously on the tip orientation. For the Cu/Cu(1 1 1) system, the manipulation of the dimmer and trimer can be successful with both tips. The manipulation reliability can be improved by the trimer-apex tip, and the tip-height range for the successful manipulation is also broader, as compared to the single-atom apex tip. Differently from the single-atom manipulation, the tip orientation has a noticeable influence on the manipulation reliability even for the single-atom tip due to the stronger tip-cluster and surface-adatom interactions in cluster manipulation. For the Ag/Ag(1 1 1) system, successful manipulations only be achieved with the trimer-apex tip, and the manipulation reliability is worse than that of the Cu/Cu(1 1 1) system, indicating the difference in mechanic properties between the two surfaces at the atomic level.     

Controlled lateral manipulation of single molecules with the scanning tunneling microscope

We report on the first successful lateral manipulation of molecules and controlled formation of nanostructures with the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) at temperatures above 4 K as used by Eigler and collaborators. Among the first structures, we built the letters F and U forming the logo of our university at 30 K with CO molecules on a Cu(211) substrate. Our method to manipulate the molecules is analogous to that employed successfully up to now only by Eigler and co-workers. First experiences concerning the manipulation of the CO molecules on the highly anisotropic substrate are presented and the crucial role of the tip composition in imaging the CO molecules is demonstrated.     

Lateral and vertical manipulations of single atoms on the Ag(1 1 1) surface with the copper single-atom and trimer-apex tips

We study the lateral and vertical manipulations of single Ag and Cu atoms on the Ag(1 1 1) surface with the Cu single-atom and trimer-apex tips using molecular statics simulations. The reliability of the lateral manipulation with the Cu single-atom tip is investigated, and compared with that for the Ag tips. We find that overall the manipulation reliability (MR) increases with the decreasing tip height, and in a wide tip-height range the MR is better than those for both the Ag single-atom and trimer-apex tips. This is due to the stronger attractive force of the Cu tip and its better stability against the interactions with the Ag surface. With the Cu trimer-apex tip, the single Ag and Cu adatoms can be picked up from the flat Ag(1 1 1) surface, and moreover a reversible vertical manipulation of single Ag atoms on the stepped Ag(1 1 1) surface is possible, suggesting a method to modify two-dimensional Ag nanostructures on the Ag(1 1 1) surface with the Cu trimer-apex tip.     

STM-study of triangular defect structures induced on WSe2

With short voltage pulses, applied between sample and tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope, it is possible to generate a variety of defects on the surface of layered transition metal dichalcogenides. In the case of WSe₂ triangular holes can be induced with a depth of a single Se-W-Se layer that grow in lateral size during scanning. We present measurements of the time evolution of the growth and its dependence on parameters of the scanning process. Furthermore, we draw attention to the peculiar shape of the edges of such triangles where several distinct rims are found. As a possible interpretation we suggest that these are caused by an oscillating workfunction or density of states due to electron interference.     

STM manipulation of a subphthalocyanine double-wheel molecule on Au(111)

A new class of double-wheel molecules is manipulated on a Au(111) surface by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at low temperature. The double-wheel molecule consists of two subphthalocyanine wheels connected by a central rotation carbon axis. Each of the subphthalocyanine wheels has a nitrogen tag to monitor its intramolecular rolling during an STM manipulation sequence. The position of the tag can be followed by STM, allowing us to distinguish between the different lateral movements of the molecule on the surface when manipulated by the STM tip.     

分子取向对CO在Pd(111)面吸附的影响

 用基于密度泛函理论广义梯度近似下的平面波赝势方法计算了在Pd(111)晶面两种不同CO分子取向的吸附结构。计算结果表明，CO分子碳端和氧端靠近Pd(111)面的吸附能分别为-1.75，-0.28 eV，碳端吸附的结构比氧端吸附能力强。因此，分子取向影响CO在Pd(111)面上的吸附，通过控制CO的取向可能减小Pd(111)的吸附进而减弱Pd(111)面CO分子的中毒。