Abstract
We found that a single molecule in a vibrationally excited state on a surface can be delivered precisely to a desired position with the aid of a local electric field in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) junction. An individual molecule on a Cu(111) surface hops laterally to move away from a negatively charged STM tip and to come toward a positively charged tip when the lateral hopping motion is induced by inelastically tunneled electrons and the molecule is positioned in an inhomogeneous electric field. These experimental findings reveal that a vibrationally excited molecule on a surface responds with high sensitivity to a local electric field in an STM junction.
- Received 17 September 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.78.201405
©2008 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Molecules shake into place
Published 12 November 2008
Individual molecules can be accurately positioned using a scanning tunneling microscope tip by transferring the energy of internal molecular vibrations into a controlled translational motion.
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