Observation of individual molecules trapped on a nanostructured insulator

Abstract

For the first time, ordered polar molecules confined in monolayer-deep rectangular pits produced on an alkali halide surface by electron irradiation have been resolved at room temperature by non-contact atomic force microscopy. Molecules self-assemble in a specific fashion inside pits of width smaller than 15 nm. By contrast no ordered aggregates of molecules are observed on flat terraces. Conclusions regarding nucleation and ordering mechanisms are drawn. Trapping in pits as small as 2 nm opens a route to address single molecules.

References in corpus (2)

• Advances in atomic force microscopy
• Cu-TBPP and PTCDA molecules on insulating surfaces studied by ultra-high-vacuum non-contact AFM

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Epitaxial Growth of Pentacene on Alkali Halide Surfaces Studied by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy
• N,N'-dimethylperylene-3,4,9,10-bis(dicarboximide) on alkali halide(001) surfaces
• Temperature dependence of the energy dissipation in dynamic force microscopy
• Adsorption of PTCDA and C60 on KBr(001): electrostatic interaction versus electronic hybridization