We show charge-state manipulation of single Au adatoms on 2–11 monolayer (ML) thick NaCl films on Cu surfaces by attaching/detaching single electrons via the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). Tristate charge control (neutral, negatively charged, and positively charged) is achieved. On Cu(100) and Cu(111) supports, charge tristability is achieved independently of the NaCl layer thickness. In contrast, on Cu(311), only Au anions are stable on the thinnest NaCl films, but neutral and positive charge states become sufficiently long-lived on films thicker than 4 ML to allow AFM-based charge-state-manipulation experiments.
By: W. Steurer, J. Repp, L. Gross, I. Scivetti, M. Persson, G. Meyer
Published in: RZ3897 in 2014
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