SPATIALLY EXTENDED POLYMERIZATION OF C_(60) CLUSTERS INDUCED BY LOCALIZED CURRENT INJECTION FROM SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE TIPS

摘要

The injection of tunneling electrons from tips of scanning tunneling microscopes (STM) to crystalline C_(60) films induces a change in STM images indicative of polymerization of the clusters, the efficiency of which is strongly affected by the internal strain in the film [Y. Nakamura et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 77 2834 (2000)]. The tip-induced polymerization effect in films deposited on Si substrates spreads spatially over approx 10nm from the electron injection point. However the extent of the spread is reduced in films grown on graphite substrates presumably due to a difference in the intercluster spacing.