Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol.14, No.2, 593-596, 1996
Direct Observation of Fullerene-Adsorbed Tips by Scanning-Tunneling-Microscopy
We have succeeded in imaging individual C-60 molecules that have been adsorbed onto the tunneling region of a scanning tunneling microscopy tip. The individual tip-adsorbed molecules are imaged by scanning the fullerene-adsorbed tip over a defect covered graphite surface. The defects are generated by low energy argon ion bombardment and protrude from the graphite surface. These nanometer-size defects serve as a surface tip array which inverse images the molecules adsorbed to the tip when the surface is scanned.