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Research Highlight

Single Atom Manipulation and Control in a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

Scientific Achievement

A single Si atom is deterministically placed and moved within a graphene lattice, with atomic-scale precision. 

Significance and Impact

The ability to build materials and devices atom-by-atom is a long-held dream for materials science and device fabrication. These results move us one step closer to making it a reality.

Research Details

- A scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is used to simultaneously image and manipulate matter at the atomic scale.

- A single Si atom is inserted into a deterministically created vacancy within a sheet of graphene.

- A substitutional Si atom is moved within the graphene lattice onto a predefined lattice position. 

 

Ondrej Dyck, Songkil Kim, Sergei V. Kalinin, and Stephen Jesse, Appl. Phys. Lett. 111, 113104 (2017).  DOI: 10.1063/1.4998599