JST-DFG workshop on Nanoelectronics

Single atom identification and manipulation

using atomic force microscopy

Yoshiaki Sugimoto

Sn Ge

Introduction

Japan
Osaka

O. Custance
Visiting Associate
Professor

M. Abe
Associate Professor

S. Morita
Professor

Bottom-up nanotechnology
The technology for atom-by-atom construction of nano-devices
1959
There's Plenty of
Room at the Bottom

1982
Invention of STM

Logic gate constructed

by atom manipulation
T=5 K

R.P. Feynman

T=4 K

G. Binnig

H. Rohrer

CO molecule

Atom manipulation

Xe atom

Cu(111) surface

Ni(100) surface
D.M. Eigler, et al., Nature 344 (1990) 524.

A.J. Heinrich, et al., Science 298 (2002) 1381.

Our approach
Previous atom manipulation and assembly
At cryogenic temperature
Using Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)

Our approach
At room temperature
Evaporation of
various atom species Using Atomic force microscopy (AFM)

Atom
Identification

Atom
Manipulation

Outline

At room temperature
Using AFM
Atom
imaging

Atom
discrimination

Atom
manipulation
Atom
identification
A B A A
A B A A

Atom imaging
Atom
manipulation

At room temperature
Using AFM
Atom
imaging

Atom
discrimination

Atom
identification
A B A A
A B A A

Experimental setup
Top view

Base pressure
<510-11 Torr

Side view

Top view of
AFM unit

Commercial Si cantilever (Nano World)

f0=160 kHz, k=30 N/m, Q=13000, A=20 nm (Typical values)
Ar ion sputtering UHV

AFM images of various surfaces

Si(111)-(7x7)

Si(100)-(2x1)

Si atom

Si atom

Ge(111)-c(2x8)

Ge atom

Semiconductor
Pb/Si(111)-(1x1)

Metal

KCl(100)

Insulator

Atom discrimination
Atom
manipulation

At room temperature
Using AFM
Atom
imaging

Atom
discrimination

Atom
identification
A B A A
A B A A

Discrimination between Sn and Si atoms

Sn/Si(111)-(33)
Sn:50% Si:50%

Sn:75% Si:25%

Sn:99% Si:1%

Si
Sn
The amount of evaporated Sn atoms increases
Sn atoms
Si surface

The limitation of atom discrimination from image

In and Si

In

Si

Sn and Ge

Sb and Si

Si
Sb

Sn
Ge
Si, Sn, and Pb mixed surface

Only two
atomic contrasts?

More than three

atomic contrasts?

Atom identification
Atom
manipulation

At room temperature
Using AFM
Atom
imaging

Atom
discrimination

Atom
identification
A B A A
A B A A

Atom identification based on force measurement

Si, Sn, Pb mixed surface

Sn

Si

Si

FSi-Si
Si

Pb Si

Si

FSi-Sn
Sn

FSi-Pb
Pb

The chemical bonding force between tip apex atoms and surface
atoms can be measured by AFM.

The method for measuring the interaction force

3

0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
-12
-14
-16
-18
-20
-22
-24

FvdW =

F[nN]

Numerical
calculation
f =

8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

f0
A2 k

-1
-2

FTotal

-3

F ( z) z

dz

A2 z 2

AH R
6Z 2

FvdW

-4
0

8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Z[]

Z[]

NC-AFM

Subtraction
3
2
1

F[nN]

f[Hz]

The chemical bonding force between tip apex atoms and surface atoms can be measured.

0
-1

FShort=FTotal-FvdW

-2
-3
-4
0

8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Z[]

The chemical bonding force: Sn and Si

Sn

22

Sn
11

F [nN]

Si

Atom tracking technique

Si

00
-1
-1
-2
-2
-3
-3
-2
-2

-1
-1

00

11

22

33

Distance
Distance []
[]

Lateral precision: 0.1

M. Abe, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett.
87 (2005) 173503.

We repeated force measurements using different

tip apex states.
Different cantilevers
Different tip structure and composition
by intentional tip-surface contact

Marked tip-apex dependence

Sn/Si
0.5

5 sets by various tip states

0.0

-0.5

F [nN]

F [nN]

Pb/Si

-1

Sn
Si

-2
-3
-2

-1

Distance []

5 sets by various tip states

-1.0

Pb
Si

-1.5

-2.0

-1

Distance []

Absolute values of the chemical bonding force strongly

depend on the tip apex structure or composition.

Different force

Absolute values of the chemical bonding force is useless

for atom identification

Averaged relative interaction ratio

Sn/Si
0.5

5 sets by various tip states

0.0

-0.5

-1
-2

le
g
sin

-1.0

Pb
Si

-1.5

-3

-2.0

-2

-1

Distance []

-1

Distance []

0.8

1.0

Sn/Si relative

0.8

0.6

0.6

Pb/Si relative

0.4

0.4

interaction ratio: 77%

0.2

F / FSi (Set)

F / FSi (Set)

5 sets by various tip states

he
t
or on
f
s ati
Sn
t
n
i fic
Sirpr
ti
n
e
g ide
n
i
F m
ato
F [nN]

F [nN]

Pb/Si

0.0
-0.2
-0.4

interaction ratio: 59%

0.2
0.0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6

-0.6
-0.8

-0.8

-1.0

-1.0
-2

-1

Distance []

-1

Distance []

The relative interaction ratio of the maximum attractive chemical bonding forces
for the same tip remains nearly constant independently on the tip

Atom fingerprints
FSn / FSi=0.77
FSi
Si

FSn
Sn

FPb

FPb / FSi=0.59

Pb

FSn / FSi=0.77
FPb / FSi=0.59
F Si
Si

FSn
Sn

FPb
Pb

Atom identification: Si, Sn, Pb

Low Si local chemical coordination
4

11 10 9 8 7
12 13 14 15 16 17
22 21 20 19 18
23 24 25 26 27 28
33 32 31 30 29

5
4

f [Hz]

Pb
Sn
Si

3
2
1

34 35 36 37 38 39

-0.1 0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
-12
-14
-16
-18
-20
-22

-3 -2 -1 0

Topographic height []
7

Atom counts

6
5
4

100%
77%
59%

3
2
1

Pb
Sn
Si

0
0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4
Maximum attractive total force [nN]

9 10

Distance []
0.0

Total force [nN]

Atom counts

-0.5
-1.0
-1.5
-2.0

-2.5
-1

Estimated tip-surface distance []

Only 10 f(Z) averaged per force curve

Y. Sugimoto, et al., Nature 446 (2007) 64.

Atom identification: Si, Sn, Pb

High Si local chemical coordination
6
5
4

-5

f [Hz]

Atom counts

Pb
Sn
Si

-10
-15

2
-20

1
0

-25

-0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

-2 -1

Topographic height []

5
4
3
2
1

Pb
Sn
Si

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6

Maximum attractive total force [nN]

9 10

0.0

Total force [nN]

Atom counts

100%
77%
59%

Distance []

8
7

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5
-1

Estimated tip-surface distance []

Only 10 f(Z) averaged per force curve

Y. Sugimoto, et al., Nature 446 (2007) 64.

Atom manipulation
Atom
manipulation

At room temperature
Using AFM
Atom
imaging

Atom
discrimination

Atom
identification
A B A A
A B A A

New manipulation method

Instrument

Method

Temperature

Conventional lateral
manipulation

Interchange lateral
manipulation

STM
Only conductive surface

AFM
All surface

On top

Cryogenic temperature

In plane

Room temperature

Nano
structure

Ge atom Sn atom

Interchange lateral manipulation

The procedure of creating
atom letters at room temperature

The direction of Sn migration is

same as the scan direction.

Sn atom
Ge atom

Y. Sugimoto, et al., Nature materials 4 (2005) 156.

The atom letters

A

Application to other systems

Sn/Si(111)-(33) In/Si(111)-(33)
In

Sn

Si

Sb/Si(111)-(77)

Si

Si
Sb

Interchange vertical manipulation

Construction time: 9 hours

Interchange lateral manipulation Interchange vertical manipulation

Conclusion and future plans

Quantum wire
Nanocluster
Quantum computer

Atom
manipulation

At room temperature
Using AFM
Atom
imaging

Atom
discrimination

Atom
identification

B
A B

A B A A
A B A A