In order to identify high-order structures and pitch length of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), poly(dA-dT)·poly(dA-dT) and poly(dG-dC)·poly(dG-dC) were adsorbed on Cu(111) substrates by the pulse injection method and were observed by ultra high vacuum (UHV) scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In large-scale STM images, the high-order structure of poly(dG-dC)·poly(dG-dC) has a higher divergence and shorter dimension compared with those of poly(dA-dT)·poly(dA-dT). High-resolution STM images revealed that the pitch lengths of poly(dA-dT)·poly(dA-dT) and poly(dG-dC)·poly(dG-dC) adsorbed onto the surface were longer than those possessed in the aqueous solution.

We have deposited platinum by inductively coupled plasma-assisted radio frequency sputtering on an Al₂O₃(0001) substrate annealed at approximately 700 °C with and without oxygen blend. The surface morphology and crystallinity of the obtained Pt films with a thickness of approximately 200 nm were subjected to atomic force microscope (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations. Without oxygen being introduced during the sputtering process, a (111)-oriented polycrystalline film was obtained. The introduction of oxygen led to the generation of twin single crystalline epitaxial Pt(111) films with a typical fcc(111) surface morphology of hexagonal symmetry.

We have grown nickel heteroepitaxially on muscovite and synthetic mica in vacuo for use as substrates for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and graphene formation. We have determined annealing conditions that could generate atomically flat surfaces (with rms surface roughness of less than 1 nm). Owing to accelerated degradation at temperatures above 600 °C, muscovite mica was unsuitable as a substrate at high growth temperatures. Thermally stable synthetic fluorophlogopite mica [KMg₃(AlSi₃O₁₀)F₂], on the other hand, was found to be stable at 800 °C and successfully employed for the formation of atomically flat films.