Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Hand Controlled Manipulation of Single Molecules via a Scanning Probe Microscope with a 3D Virtual Reality Interface
Published on: October 2, 2016
Exploring the interatomic forces between tip and single molecules during STM manipulation
Leonhard Grill1, Karl-Heinz Rieder, Francesca Moresco
1Institut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany. leonhard.grill@physik.fu-berlin.de
Abstract:
The interaction between a single molecule and the STM tip during intramolecular manipulation is investigated in detail. We show that the conformational change of complex organic molecules can be induced reversibly and very reliably by using exclusively attractive forces. By studying the dependence of this process on the bias voltage and the tip position, the driving forces are characterized. Different regimes of tip-molecule interactions are observed as a function of the distance.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Force Microscopy
The AFM Probe
The probe is regarded as the heart of any AFM setup and comprises the...
Intermolecular vs Intramolecular Forces
Intermolecular Forces
Intermolecular Forces
