Invited Paper NS+NC-ThA7
STM Atom and Molecule Manipulation: Realizing Single Molecule Switches and Devices

Thursday, October 23, 2008, 4:00 pm, Room 311

Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) manipulation of single atoms and molecules on surfaces allow construction of novel quantum structures on an atom-by-atom basis and demonstration of single molecule devices on a one molecule at-a-time basis. STM is not only an instrument used to ‘/see/’ individual atoms by means of imaging, but also a tool used to ‘/touch/’ and ‘/take/’ atoms/molecules or to ‘/hear/’ their vibration by manipulations. Therefore, it can be considered as the ‘/eyes’, ‘hands’/ and ‘/ears’/ of the scientists connecting our macroscopic world to the exciting atomic and nanoscopic world. In our research projects, we combine STM manipulation schemes with a variety of tunneling spectroscopy measurements to address several critical issues covering both fundamental understanding, and demonstration of novel atoms/molecules based nano-devices. In this talk, our recent results of single atom/molecule manipulations using a low-temperature STM will be presented. The presentation will include atom manipulation on 3-D nanoclusters, comparative lateral force measurement to move individual atoms, manipulation of nanoscale bio-molecules to realize a multi-step single molecule switch, manipulation of Kondo effect in zero and two-dimensional molecular systems, and charge transfer molecular switching.