Tip-induced adatom extraction and cluster manipulation

    Authors

    H. Yildirim; A. Kara;T. S. Rahman

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Phys. Rev. B

    Keywords

    SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE; LATERAL MANIPULATION; SINGLE ATOMS; STRUCTURAL RELAXATIONS; VIBRATIONAL DYNAMICS; METAL-SURFACES; THERMODYNAMICS; DIFFUSION; MOLECULES; MOTION; Physics, Condensed Matter

    Abstract

    We present results for tip-induced extraction of a Cu adatom from Cu mound on Cu(111), and compare the characteristics to that for a similar Ag system. Molecular-dynamics and molecular static simulations were carried out using interaction potentials from the embedded atom method. Molecular-dynamics simulations revealed differences in the modes of extraction for the cases of Ag and Cu systems and their dependence on tip geometry. For the case of a sharp Ag tip, the extraction of a Ag adatom occurs via the pulling mode, while with a blunt Ag tip, the extraction is more complex involving a two-step motion. On the other hand, the relatively stronger Cu-Cu interaction leads to a sliding and/or dragging mode in which the whole three-dimensional cluster is dragged followed by the extraction of the adatom from the cluster. Molecular static simulations provide a detailed analysis of the changes in the energy landscape in the presence of the tip, resulting in a substantial decrease of the energy barrier for an adatom to descend from the mound.

    Journal Title

    Physical Review B

    Volume

    75

    Issue/Number

    20

    Publication Date

    1-1-2007

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    7

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000246890900110

    ISSN

    1098-0121

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