Atom inlays performed at room temperature using atomic force microscopy

The ability to manipulate single atoms and molecules laterally for creating artificial structures on surfaces(1) is driving us closer to the ultimate limit of two-dimensional nanoengineering(2,3). However, experiments involving this level of manipulation have been performed only at cryogenic temperatures. Scanning tunnelling microscopy has proved, so far, to be a unique tool with all the necessary capabilities for laterally pushing, pulling or sliding(4) single atoms and molecules, and arranging them on a surface at will. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, that it is possible to perform well-controlled lateral manipulations of single atoms using near-contact atomic force microscopy(5-7) even at room temperature. We report the creation of 'atom inlays', that is, artificial atomic patterns formed from a few embedded atoms in the plane of a surface. At room temperature, such atomic structures remain stable on the surface for relatively long periods of time.