Scanning tunneling microscope-promoted growth of nanometer-scale, uniform gold stripes on reconstructed Au(111) surfaces

Ascanning tunneling microscopewas used to assist the growth of nanometer-scale uniform gold stripes on reconstructed Au(111) surfaces. The microscope tip was used to produce stripes several 100 nm in length and separated by spaces ranging from two to four nm. Stripes were formed only when the scan direction was towards the direction of reconstruction. The growth was observed to be faster than that seen in diffusion alone.