Measurements of Molecular Dynamics in Atomically Engineered Molecular Nanostructures

Published

March 15, 2006

Author(s)

Joseph A. Stroscio, Robert Celotta

Abstract

The quantum yield for exciting the motion of a single atom within a molecular nanostructure was measured with atomic spatial resolution. The molecular nanostructures consisted of a series of CoCun and CoCunCo linear molecules fabricated on a Cu(111) surface. The Co atoms at the end of the molecules were induced to switch between two lattice positions using electron excitation in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The electron excitation and quantum yield were found to be spatially localized on an atomic scale. Above an electron energy threshold, the Co atom motion resulted from a predominantly single electron process. By systematically varying the molecular structure, atom motion within the molecule was shown to be dependent on molecular length and composition.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the MAR06 Meeting of The American Physical Society

Conference Dates

March 13-17, 2006

Conference Location

Baltimore, MD

Conference Title

MAR06 Meeting of The American Physical Society

Pub Type

Conferences

Citation

Stroscio, J. and Celotta, R. (2006), Measurements of Molecular Dynamics in Atomically Engineered Molecular Nanostructures, Proceedings of the MAR06 Meeting of The American Physical Society, Baltimore, MD (Accessed October 22, 2025)