Engineering patterns of Co nanoclusters on thin film Al_2O_3/NiAl(100) using scanning tunneling microscopy manipulation techniques

摘要

We present precise engineering of patterns of Co nanoclusters grown on ordered Al_2O_3/NiAl(100) surface using the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) manipulation technique. The clusters are attracted to the STM tip by lowering the bias below a threshold value and translated and relocated to another position by reversing the polarity. This facile manipulation technique in combination with the self-organized patterning on this system reported earlier might play a decisive role in nanotechnology for various applications where patterned nanoclusters are desired.