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G Comtet

Publications and source records attributed to G Comtet.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Picometer-scale electronic control of molecular dynamics inside a single molecule.

Tunneling electrons from a low-temperature (5 kelvin) scanning tunneling microscope were used to control, through resonant electronic excitation, the molecular dynamics of an individual biphenyl molecule adsorbed on a silicon(100) surface. Different reversible molecular movements were selectively activated by tuning the electron energy and by selecting precise locations for the excitation inside the molecule. Both the spatial selectivity and energy dependence of the electronic control are supported by spectroscopic measurements with the scanning tunneling microscope. These experiments demonstrate the feasibility of controlling the molecular dynamics of a single molecule through the localization of the electronic excitation inside the molecule.

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Atomic-scale STM experiments on semiconductor surfaces: towards molecular nanomachines.

The electronic or quantum control of individual molecules with the scanning tunnelling microscope offers exciting perspectives on operating molecular nanomachines. This implies the use of semiconductor surfaces rather than metallic surfaces which would rapidly quench the electronic excitations. We review recent results illustrating the state of the art and the main problems which need to be solved: the choice, design and properties of functionalized organic molecules on semiconductor surfaces; the control of the inelastic electronic channels through a single molecule; and the search for well-controlled atomic-scale wide-band-gap semiconductor surfaces.

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Electronic structure of partially hydrogenated Si(100)-( 2 x 1) surfaces prepared by thermal and nonthermal desorption.

The electronic structure of partially hydrogenated Si(100)- (2 x 1) surfaces, prepared by controlled thermal annealing and nonthermal photon stimulated desorption of fully hydrogenated Si(100) surfaces, has been investigated by using valence band photoemission. Thermal and nonthermal desorption are found to produce very specific electronic surface structures. This led us to the discovery of two specific surface states having binding energies of 1.0 and 0.7 eV associated with the isolated Si dimers and single Si dangling bonds, respectively.

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Selective photon-stimulated desorption of hydrogen from GaAs surfaces.

Photon-stimulated desorption of H(+) from hydrogenated GaAs (110) and (100) surfaces was studied as a function of photon energy. Distinct peaks, observed around As 3d core-level binding energy for desorption from the GaAs (100) surface and in the As 3d and Ga 3p region for desorption from the GaAs (110) surface, show a striking similarity with the fine structure (spin-orbit splitting) measured in the photoemission from As 3d and Ga 3p levels. These results provide clear evidence for direct desorption processes and represent a basis for selective modification of hydrogenated GaAs surfaces.

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