Scanning tunnelling microscopy observations resolve the structure and dynamics of metallic glass Cu100-xHfx films and demonstrate scanning tunnelling microscopy control of aging at a metallic glass surface. Surface clusters exhibit heterogeneous hopping dynamics. Low Hf concentration films feature an aged surface of larger, slower clusters. Argon ion-sputtering destroys the aged configuration, ...

As the ultimate miniaturization of semiconductor devices approaches, it is imperative that the effects of single dopants be clarified. Beyond providing insight into functions and limitations of conventional devices, such information enables identification of new device concepts. Investigating single dopants requires sub-nanometre spatial resolution, making scanning tunnelling microscopy an idea...

Intrinsic ripples in freestanding graphene have been exceedingly difficult to study. Individual ripple geometry was recently imaged using scanning tunnelling microscopy, but these measurements are limited to static configurations. Thermally-activated flexural phonon modes should generate dynamic changes in curvature. Here we show how to track the vertical movement of a one-square-angstrom regio...

Suspended graphene has been studied by STM for the first time. Atomic resolution on mono- and bi-layer graphene samples has been obtained after ridding the graphene surface of contamination via high-temperature annealing. Static local corrugations (ripples) have been observed on both types of structures.

Individual atoms and ions are now routinely manipulated using scanning tunnelling microscopes or electromagnetic traps for the creation and control of artificial quantum states. For applications such as quantum information processing, the ability to introduce multiple atomic-scale defects deterministically in a semiconductor is highly desirable. Here we use a scanning tunnelling microscope to f...