Layer by layer removal of Au atoms from passivated Au(111) surfaces using the scanning tunneling microscope: Nanoscale “paint stripping”

Abstract

Layer by layer removal of gold atoms from the (111) surface of gold has been performed using the scanning tunneling microscope. The process is made possible by a chemisorbed self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of dodecanethiol molecules on the surface, which gives rise to a reduced bonding strength between the top two layers of gold atoms. The gold atoms and associated adsorbed molecules are peeled off and displaced laterally by the STM tip, and the size of the modified area (down to ∼10×10 nm) is more or less determined by the scan size.