Morphology and local electronic structure of metal particles on metal oxide surfaces: a scanning tunneling microscopic and scanning tunneling spectroscopic study

Metal particles (Au, Pd and Ni) with an average diameter between 7 to 100 إ have been prepared on thin metal oxide films (TiO2, MgO and Al2O3), epitaxially grown on refractory metal substrates {Mo(100) or Re(0001)}, and imaged using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Information regarding the local electronic structure has been obtained using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). Controlled manipulation of the metal particles with the STM tip is also demonstrated.