Abstract

We have investigated compositional changes of a tip before and after atom manipulation by a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) combined with an atom probe (AP). On clean Si(0 0 1) : (2×1), the surface was modified by the STM with a bias of +5 V and 2 nA at the sample. The AP mass spectrum clearly showed that Si as well as W atoms were detected. The detected ratio of W to Si is 1 : 2 at first and then 5 : 3, which indicates that two types of stable tungsten silicides, WSi 2 and W 5Si 3, respectively, are formed on the STM tip. Direct evidence of silicide formation during atom manipulation was clearly shown by STM combined with AP(AP-STM).

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