|
Physical Society ColloquiumInterview for Faculty PositionPhysics at surfaces - Atom by atomRoland BennewitzUniversity of BaselIn the first part of this talk I will discuss force and dissipation experiments on the atomic scale performed with high-resolution force microscopy. Atomic friction, wear of atomic layers, and the enhanced dissipation at low-coordinated sites are direct observations of atoms at work. A new method for the detection of lateral forces in atomic manipulation experiments will be presented. Such manipulation of single atoms by tunneling microscopy has been used to demonstrate an atomic memory where one bit is coded by the presence or absence of a single atom. Readout speed and stability at room temperature will be discussed.In a second part I will present recent approaches towards preparing and analyzing surfaces structures with reduced dimensionality. Regular step patterns are exploited to guide the self-organization of metallic chains and molecules. One-dimensional chains of Gadolinium and Gold on Silicon have been characterized by tunneling microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy. Monatomic steps and pits on alkali halides serve as templates for the growth of molecular layers.
Thursday, March 20th 2003, 16:00
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, R.E. Bell Conference Room (room 103) |