TOPICAL REVIEW: Active nanocharacterization of nanofunctional materials by scanning tunneling microscopy

Recent developments in the application of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to nanofabrication and nanocharacterization are reviewed. The main focus of this paper is to outline techniques for depositing and manipulating nanometer-scale structures using STM tips. Firstly, the transfer of STM tip material through the application of voltage pulses is introduced. The highly reproducible fabrication of metallic silver nanodots and nanowires is discussed. The mechanism is thought to be spontaneous point-contact formation caused by field-enhanced diffusion to the apex of the tip. Transfer through the application of z-direction pulses is also introduced. Sub-nanometer displacement pulses along the z-direction form point contacts that can be used for reproducible nanodot deposition. Next, the discovery of the STM structural manipulation of surface phases is discussed. It has been demonstrated that superstructures on Si(001) surfaces can be reverse-manipulated by controlling the injected carriers. Finally, the fabrication of an atomic-scale one-dimensional quantum confinement system by single-atom deposition using a controlled point contact is presented. Because of its combined nanofabrication and nanocharacterization capabilities, STM is a powerful tool for exploring the nanotechnology and nanoscience fields.