NANOSTRUCTURING OF ELECTRODE SURFACES BY TIP-INDUCED METAL-DEPOSITION

It is demonstrated how the tip of an STM can be used as a tool for the deposition of small Cu clusters onto flat surfaces at preselected positions. This is done by depositing Cu onto the tip which then acts as a reservoir from which Cu is handed over to the surface during an appropriate tip approach. It is shown how the instrumental parameters can be used to vary the cluster size or, by inducing tip oscillations, to generate cluster trains instead of a single cluster. Cu clusters can also be selectively erased by applying very positive tip potentials. The influence of the substrate on the shape of the tip-induced Cu clusters is briefly discussed and preliminary results on the electrochemical stability of single clusters of various sizes are presented.