Self-organized islands of uniform heights can form at low temperatures on metal/semiconductor systems as a result of quantum size effects, i.e., the occupation of discrete electron energy levels in the film. We compare the growth mode on two different substrates [Si(111)- (7x7) vs Si(111)- Pb(sqrt[3]xsqrt[3] )] with spot profile analysis low-energy electron diffraction. For the same growth conditions (of coverage and temperature) 7-step islands are the most stable islands on the (7x7) phase, while 5-step (but larger islands) are the most stable islands on the (sqrt[3]xsqrt[3] ). A theoretical calculation suggests that the height selection on the two interfaces can be attributed to the amount of charge transfer at the interface.

The thermal switching behavior of individual in-plane magnetized Fe/W(110) nanoislands is investigated by a combined study of variable-temperature spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations. Even for islands consisting of less than 100 atoms the magnetization reversal takes place via nucleation and propagation. The Arrhenius prefactor is found to strongly depend on the individual island size and shape, and based on the experimental results a simple model is developed to describe the magnetization reversal in terms of metastable states. Complementary Monte Carlo simulations confirm the model and provide new insight into the microscopic processes involved in magnetization reversal of smallest nanomagnets.

Switching the magnetization of a magnetic bit by injection of a spin-polarized current offers the possibility for the development of innovative high-density data storage technologies. We show how individual superparamagnetic iron nanoislands with typical sizes of 100 atoms can be addressed and locally switched using a magnetic scanning probe tip, thus demonstrating current-induced magnetization reversal across a vacuum barrier combined with the ultimate resolution of spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Our technique allows us to separate and quantify three fundamental contributions involved in magnetization switching (i.e., current-induced spin torque, heating the island by the tunneling current, and Oersted field effects), thereby providing an improved understanding of the switching mechanism.

We have used single-molecule-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy to measure the photomechanical switching rates of azobenzene-derived molecules at a gold surface during exposure to UV and visible light. This enables the direct determination of both the forward and reverse photoswitching cross sections for surface-mounted molecules at different wavelengths. In a dramatic departure from molecular behavior in solution-based environments, visible light does not efficiently reverse the reaction for azobenzene-derived molecules at a gold surface.

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Single-molecule-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy of tetra-tert-butyl azobenzene (TTB-AB) molecules adsorbed onto Au(111) reveals chirality selection rules in their photoswitching behavior. This observation is enabled by the fact that trans-TTB-AB molecules self-assemble into homochiral domains. Cis-TTB-AB molecules produced via photoisomerization are found in two distinct conformations with final state chirality determined by the initial trans isomer chirality. Based on these observations and ab initio calculations, we propose a new inversion-based dynamical photoswitching mechanism for azobenzene molecules at a surface.

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