Nanometer scale patterning of C-60 multilayers using molecular manipulation

We show that the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope can be used to manipulate large groups of molecules and form Lines in C-60 multilayers that have widths of order 10 nm and lengths up to 1 mu m. This modification is achieved by first moving the tip towards the surface and then sweeping it across a predetermined distance. This causes the second and higher layers of adsorbed C-60 to accumulate in ordered islands that are several layers high and leaves exposed the first C-60 layer, which is partially ordered in a hexagonal arrangement. Our results show that the first adsorbed C-60 layer bonds strongly to the Si(111)-7X7 surface but that higher layers are bound much more weakly and can be routinely modified. (C) 1997 American Vacuum Society.