Individual Iron and Cobalt Atoms Identification using Atomic Force Microscopy

摘要: During the last two decades, researchers have demonstrated that the noncontact mode of atomic force microscope (AFM) has the ability to image single atoms, clusters, and molecules [1–3], distinguish bond orders [4], functional groups [5], and certain types of atomic species [6]. Even the controlled breaking of individual chemical bonds [7] becomes possible using AFM, despite some limitations. These developments are at the atomic or molecular level. Our focus is now on understanding subatomic structures. Is AFM capable of observing the internal electronic structure of a molecule? In theory, the answer is affirmative, as AFM images contain information about the electronic states of the specimen being imaged. Our AFM simulation method [8] treats both the specimens and the functionalized tips within a quantum description and has been successful in terms of reproducing experimentally observed features. The …