SCANNING-TUNNELING-MICROSCOPY OF ORDERED C-60 AND C-70 LAYERS ON AU(111), CU(111), AG(110), AND AU(110) SURFACES

We have conducted a study of the growth of C60 and C70 on a variety of reconstructed and unreconstructed noble metal surfaces using a UHV scanning tunneling microscope. For reconstructed Au(110) and Au(111) surfaces we observe changes in the superstructure of the metal upon (sub)monolayer adsorption at the fullerene-metal interface. In all the metals studied, formation of a well-ordered hexagonal C60 overlayer is observed after annealing. (110) and (111) substrates show preferred nucleation and growth at terrace and steps, respectively. Time-lapsed images illustrate mobility of C60 arrays and clusters. The role of tip-C60 interactions is elucidated by sequences of images and the prospects for manipulation is discussed.