Cobalt grows initially on Cu(111) in the form of bilayer islands with the shape of triangles of alternate orientation. This is probably related to the initial stacking sequence of the Co layers. The islands do not coalesce upon further deposition and the resulting film, although epitaxial and crystalline to the extent tested by diffraction techniques, is, actually, granular. Thus, microscopic evidence is provided for the existence of an intrinsic defect, namely, twinned fcc crystallites and their associated grain boundaries, which may be the much sought cause of discrepancy on antiferromagnetic coupling data in Co/Cu(111) superlattices grown in ultrahigh vacuum.

A theory is presented for the scanning vacuum-tunneling microscopy experiments performed by Binning et al. The tunnel current is obtained for different geometries and tip shapes. Lateral resolutions are 4-8 Å for distances from the tip to the sample ∼3.5-4.5 Å, effective tip radii ∼3-10 Å, 1-nA currents, and applied voltage ∼0.01 eV. The Au(110)(1×2) surface is analyzed and the experimental results discussed.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) selectively grown on COOH-functionalized surfaces have been investigated by scanning force microscopy. Thickness and surface roughness analysis reveals that the use of a novel protocol based on a layer-by-layer approach results in a controlled growth yielding extremely homogeneous and preferentially oriented materials. The results are described within a sequential growth model and turn out to be promising for building up MOF-based 3D architectures of high quality.

We show that atomically flat single SrO-terminated ${\text{SrTiO}}_3\left(001\right)$ substrates can be obtained through simple high-temperature treatment. Amplitude-modulation atomic force microscopy with phase-lag analysis and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, have been used to demonstrate that the ratio between the two chemical terminations can be tailored by choosing the annealing time. Moreover, the progressive SrO surface enrichment (up to 100%) is accompanied by a self-assembly process which results in the spatial separation at the nanoscale of both chemical terminations. We further demonstrate that this opens a interesting avenue for selective chemical reaction and growth of oxide nanostructures.