Francesca Moresco and colleagues at Freie University in Berlin said the interaction between the tip of a STM and atoms or molecules bound to a surface can be used to construct impressive nanostructures, such as the quantum corral.

The researchers said they combined STM manipulation techniques with the ability of a molecule to assemble nanostructures by sucking up and depositing atoms where needed.

The invention of the STM during the early 1980s was the catalyst of the nanoscale technological revolution, not only for imaging, but also for interacting with matter at the atomic scale, the researchers said.

Since then, progress in manipulation techniques has shown that the interaction of molecules with the surface of a metal can induce surface reconstruction.

Moresco and colleagues say they go a step further by moving and organizing metal atoms on a substrate with the help of a well-designed six-leg organic molecule.

The research is detailed in the in the December issue of Nature Materials.

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