Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 028304 (2007) [4 pages]Atom-By-Atom Extraction Using the Scanning Tunneling Microscope Tip-Cluster InteractionReceived 15 February 2005; revised 11 September 2006; published 11 January 2007 We investigate the atomistic details of a single atom-extraction process realized by using the scanning tunneling microscope tip-cluster interaction on a Ag(111) surface at 6 K. Single atoms are extracted from a silver cluster one atom at a time using small tunneling biases less than 35 mV. Combined total energy calculations and molecular dynamics simulations show a lowering of the atom-extraction barrier upon approaching the tip to the cluster. Thus, a mere tuning of the proximity between the tip and the cluster governs the extraction process. The atomic precision and reproducibility of this procedure are demonstrated by repeatedly extracting single atoms from a silver cluster on an atom-by-atom basis. © 2007 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.028304
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.028304
PACS:
39.25.+k, 68.37.Ef, 68.43.−h
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