A scanning tunneling microscopy study and ab initio total energy calculations have identified the atomic-level structure of novel sp;{3}-bonded carbon nanoscale domains formed dynamically from graphite by femtosecond-laser excitation. The structure is characterized by a pseudo sp;{3}-bonding configuration that results in inward displacement of surface carbon atoms by 0.5 A in every third row along the [11[over ]00] orientation. This structural periodicity is unique and differs from conventional phases of diamond.

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The classification of interaction forces between two approaching bodies is important in a wide range of research fields. Here, we propose a method to unambiguously extract the electrostatic force (F(ele)), which is one of the most significant forces. This method is based on the measurement of the energy dissipation under applied voltage pulse between an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip and sample. It allowed us to obtain F(ele) as a function of the tip-sample distance and voltage including the distance-independent part, to which conventional AFM is insensitive. The obtained F(ele) curves nicely fit the analytical model, enabling estimation of the geometry of the tip. The distance-dependent contact potential difference could also be correctly obtained by the measured F(ele), opening an alternative route to quantitative Kelvin probe force microscopy.

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An important step toward molecule-based electronics is to realize a robust and well-ordered molecular network at room temperature. To this end, one key challenge is tuning the molecule–substrate electronic interactions that influence not only the molecular selfassembly but also the stability of the resulting structures. In this study, we investigate the film formation of π-conjugated metal-free phthalocyanine molecules on a 3d-bcc-Fe(001) whisker substrate at 300 K by using ultra-high-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy. On bare Fe(001), hybridization between the molecular π and the Fe(001) d-states prevents the molecular assembly, resulting in the disordered patchy structures. The second- and third-layer molecules form densely packed films, while the morphologies show clear difference. The second-layer molecules partially form p(5 × 5)-ordered films with the rectangular edges aligned along the [100] and [010] directions, while the edges of the third-layer films are rounded. Remarkably, such film morphologies are stable even at 300 K. These findings suggest that the molecular self-assembly and the resulting morphologies in the second and third layers are affected by the substrate bcc(001), despite that the Fe-d states hybridize only with the first-layer molecules. The possible mechanism is discussed with the kinetic Monte Carlo simulation.