ReviewScanning tunneling microscopy of functional nanostructures on solid surfaces: Manipulation, self-assembly, and applications

The manipulation, self-assembly, and application of functional nanostructures on solid surfaces are fundamental issues for the development of electronics and optoelectronics. For a future molecular electronics the fabrication of high-quality organic thin films on metal surfaces is crucial, which can be achieved by thermal evaporation for various organic/metal systems. The switching property of single molecules can be manipulated and measured, revealing a possibility to realize single molecular devices. Manipulation of a local conductance transition in organic thin films, used for ultra-high density data storage, has also been achieved based on several different mechanisms. The stability, reversibility, and repeatability of the local conductance transition have been improved by molecular design. In this article, we will summarize our recent scanning tunneling microscopy studies on these issues and discuss their perspectives.