_version_ 1866909978848133120
author Barrera, Eduardo
Thanabalasingam, Bheeshmon
Addou, Rafik
Allis, Damian
Asani, Aly
Barton, Jeremy
Bernots, Tomass
Blue, Brandon
Bottomley, Adam
Cheng, Doreen
Choi, Byoung
Cowie, Megan
Deimert, Chris
Drew, Michael
Durand, Mathieu
Enright, Tyler
Freitas Jr., Robert A.
Godfrey, Alan
Groome, Ryan
Guo, Si Yue
Haird, Sheldon
Hill, Aru
Huff, Taleana
Imperiale, Christian
Inayeh, Alex
Jeyachandra, Jerry
Jobes, Mark
Kennedy, Matthew
Kirby, Robert J.
Krykunov, Mykhaylo
Lilak, Sam
Ma, Hadiya
Maahs, Adam
Mackie, Cameron J.
MacLean, Oliver
Marshall, Michael
McCallum, Terry
Merkle, Ralph C.
Morin, Mathieu
Myall, Jonathan
Ofitserov, Alexei
Ou, Sheena
Plumadore, Ryan
Powell, Adam
Prokopenko, Max
Rodriguez, Henry
Rohe, Sam
Sandoval, Luis
Savoie, Marc
Sayed-Akhmad, Khalil
Scheffel, Ben
Takatani, Tait
Therien, D. Alexander
Van Barr, Finley
Vobornik, Dusan
Wong, Janice
Wotton, Reid
Yamachika, Ryan
Yu, Cristina
Taucer, Marco
author_facet Barrera, Eduardo
Thanabalasingam, Bheeshmon
Addou, Rafik
Allis, Damian
Asani, Aly
Barton, Jeremy
Bernots, Tomass
Blue, Brandon
Bottomley, Adam
Cheng, Doreen
Choi, Byoung
Cowie, Megan
Deimert, Chris
Drew, Michael
Durand, Mathieu
Enright, Tyler
Freitas Jr., Robert A.
Godfrey, Alan
Groome, Ryan
Guo, Si Yue
Haird, Sheldon
Hill, Aru
Huff, Taleana
Imperiale, Christian
Inayeh, Alex
Jeyachandra, Jerry
Jobes, Mark
Kennedy, Matthew
Kirby, Robert J.
Krykunov, Mykhaylo
Lilak, Sam
Ma, Hadiya
Maahs, Adam
Mackie, Cameron J.
MacLean, Oliver
Marshall, Michael
McCallum, Terry
Merkle, Ralph C.
Morin, Mathieu
Myall, Jonathan
Ofitserov, Alexei
Ou, Sheena
Plumadore, Ryan
Powell, Adam
Prokopenko, Max
Rodriguez, Henry
Rohe, Sam
Sandoval, Luis
Savoie, Marc
Sayed-Akhmad, Khalil
Scheffel, Ben
Takatani, Tait
Therien, D. Alexander
Van Barr, Finley
Vobornik, Dusan
Wong, Janice
Wotton, Reid
Yamachika, Ryan
Yu, Cristina
Taucer, Marco
contents Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) enables fabrication of atomically precise structures with unique properties and growing technological potential. However, reproducible manipulation of covalently bonded atoms requires control over the atomic configuration of both sample and probe - a longstanding challenge in STM. Here, we introduce inverted-mode STM, an approach that enables mechanically controlled chemical reactions for atomically precise fabrication. Tailored molecules on a Si(100) surface image the probe apex, and the usual challenge of understanding the probe structure is effectively solved. The molecules can also react with the probe, with the two sides of the tunnel junction acting as reagents positioned with sub-angstrom precision. This allows abstraction or donation of atoms from or to the probe apex. We demonstrate this by using a novel alkynyl-terminated molecule to reproducibly abstract hydrogen atoms from the probe. The approach is expected to extend to other elements and moieties, opening a new avenue for scalable atomically precise fabrication.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_24431
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inverted-Mode Scanning Tunneling Microscopy for Atomically Precise Fabrication
Barrera, Eduardo
Thanabalasingam, Bheeshmon
Addou, Rafik
Allis, Damian
Asani, Aly
Barton, Jeremy
Bernots, Tomass
Blue, Brandon
Bottomley, Adam
Cheng, Doreen
Choi, Byoung
Cowie, Megan
Deimert, Chris
Drew, Michael
Durand, Mathieu
Enright, Tyler
Freitas Jr., Robert A.
Godfrey, Alan
Groome, Ryan
Guo, Si Yue
Haird, Sheldon
Hill, Aru
Huff, Taleana
Imperiale, Christian
Inayeh, Alex
Jeyachandra, Jerry
Jobes, Mark
Kennedy, Matthew
Kirby, Robert J.
Krykunov, Mykhaylo
Lilak, Sam
Ma, Hadiya
Maahs, Adam
Mackie, Cameron J.
MacLean, Oliver
Marshall, Michael
McCallum, Terry
Merkle, Ralph C.
Morin, Mathieu
Myall, Jonathan
Ofitserov, Alexei
Ou, Sheena
Plumadore, Ryan
Powell, Adam
Prokopenko, Max
Rodriguez, Henry
Rohe, Sam
Sandoval, Luis
Savoie, Marc
Sayed-Akhmad, Khalil
Scheffel, Ben
Takatani, Tait
Therien, D. Alexander
Van Barr, Finley
Vobornik, Dusan
Wong, Janice
Wotton, Reid
Yamachika, Ryan
Yu, Cristina
Taucer, Marco
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) enables fabrication of atomically precise structures with unique properties and growing technological potential. However, reproducible manipulation of covalently bonded atoms requires control over the atomic configuration of both sample and probe - a longstanding challenge in STM. Here, we introduce inverted-mode STM, an approach that enables mechanically controlled chemical reactions for atomically precise fabrication. Tailored molecules on a Si(100) surface image the probe apex, and the usual challenge of understanding the probe structure is effectively solved. The molecules can also react with the probe, with the two sides of the tunnel junction acting as reagents positioned with sub-angstrom precision. This allows abstraction or donation of atoms from or to the probe apex. We demonstrate this by using a novel alkynyl-terminated molecule to reproducibly abstract hydrogen atoms from the probe. The approach is expected to extend to other elements and moieties, opening a new avenue for scalable atomically precise fabrication.
title Inverted-Mode Scanning Tunneling Microscopy for Atomically Precise Fabrication
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.24431