Dresden 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 3: Scanning probe techniques: Method development I
O 3.5: Vortrag
Montag, 9. März 2026, 11:30–11:45, HSZ/0204
A direct measurement of weak lateral trapping over a C6 ring — •Alfred John Weymouth1, Maximilian Titl1, Shinjae Nam1, Lukas Hörmann2, Oliver Hofmann3, and Franz J. Giessibl1 — 1University of Regensburg, Germany — 2University of Warwick, U.K. — 3TU Graz, Austria
Six-membered carbon rings (C6 rings) can be found in a multitude of systems from graphite to organic molecules. Graphitic surfaces are so flat that they have been used to explore superlubricity, where one important aspect of their frictional response is the trapping of a single atom in an individual C6 ring. This trapping also plays a role in the lateral movement of adsorbates on these surfaces. However, studies investigating trapping on these surfaces often focus only on strongly-bound adsorbates. We experimentally measure the trapping of a weakly-bound single atom asperity using lateral force microscopy with a CO-tip and simulate this system with DFT-based methods. Surprisingly, we observe a uniform lateral spring constant within individual C6 rings over heights of tens of picometers for a range of systems. To precisely determine the surface trapping, we re-evaluate the lateral spring constant of the CO at the tip apex. With this value, we determined a very weak lateral spring constant of a particle within a C6 ring.
Keywords: CO-tip; Lateral force microscopy; Lateral diffusion