Measuring site-specific cluster-surface bond formation

Recent advances in dynamic force microscopy show that it is possible to measure the forces between atomically sharp tips and particular atomic positions on surfaces as a function of distance. However, on most ionic surfaces, the positive and negative ions can so far not be distinguished. In this paper, we use the CaF(2)(111) surface, where atomic resolution force microscopy has allowed identification of the positions of the Ca(2+) and F(-) ions in the obtained images, to demonstrate that short-range interaction forces can be measured selectively above chemically identified surface sites. Combining experimental and theoretical results allows a quantification of the strength and distance dependence of the interaction of a tip-terminating cluster with particular surface ions and reveals details of cluster and surface relaxation. Further development of this approach will provide new insight into mechanisms of chemical bond formation between clusters, cluster deposition at surfaces, processes in adhesion and tribology, and single atom manipulation with the force microscope.