CANCELED: “Towards nanofabrication with molecular building blocks”

The last half century has seen a proliferation of ideas for using single organic molecules in non-biological contexts. As mechanical and electronic devices shrank in size and the complex space of chemical compounds became more accessible, visions of molecular machines and molecular electronics took shape. More recently, ideas to exploit the quantum states of individual molecules in quantum technologies have emerged. To realize any of these visions, it is essential to understand and quantify the physical interactions that govern molecular behavior and to achieve a new level of control over the mechanical manipulation of individual molecules. With its unique imaging and manipulation capabilities, the low temperature scanning probe microscope (SPM) is our tool of choice to work towards this goal. In my talk, I will cover the range from basic stability considerations to SPM-fabricated single-molecule devices. Specifically, I will show how the stabilizing potential of a fragile standing molecule [1] can be quantified with a few-meV accuracy by a combination of thermal excitation experiments and theory [2]; introduce an autonomous agent that controls the SPM and masters a nanoscale robotic task of molecule manipulation using reinforcement learning [3]; and present a new microscopy technique, scanning quantum dot microscopy, that uses a single-molecule sensor to image and quantify surface electrostatic potentials at the atomic scale [4].

References

• [1] T. Esat, N. Friedrich, F. S. Tautz, R. Temirov, Nature 558, 573 (2018).
• [2] M. Knol, H. H. Arefi, D. Corken, J. Gardner, F. S. Tautz, R. J. Maurer, C. Wagner, Sci. Adv. 7, eabj9751 (2021).
• [3] P. Leinen, M. Esders, K. T. Schütt, C. Wagner, K.-R. Müller, F. S. Tautz, Sci. Adv. 6, eabb6987 (2020).
• [4] C. Wagner, M. F. Green, M. Maiworm, P. Leinen, T. Esat, N. Ferri, N. Friedrich, R. Findeisen, A. Tkatchenko, R. Temirov, F. S. Tautz, Nat. Mater. 18, 853 (2019).