An Atomic Seesaw Switch Formed by Tilted Asymmetric Sn-Ge Dimers on a Ge (001) Surface
K. Tomatsu,1
K. Nakatsuji,1
T. Iimori,1
Y. Takagi,2
H. Kusuhara,3
A. Ishii,3
F. Komori1
When tin (Sn) atoms are deposited on a clean germanium (Ge)
(001) surface at room temperature, buckled dimers originating
from the Sn atoms are formed at the Ge-dimer position. We identified
the dimer as a heterogeneous Sn-Ge dimer by reversing its buckling
orientation with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at 80
kelvin. An atomic seesaw switch was formed for one-dimensional
electronic conduction in the Ge dimer–row direction by
using the STM to reversibly flip the buckling orientation of
the Sn-Ge dimer and to set up standing-wave states.
2 RIKEN Harima Institute at Spring-8, 1-1-1 Kouto, Mikazuki-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan.
3 Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics, Tottori University, 4-101 Minami, Koyama, Tottori 680-8552, Japan.
