Atomic hop-scotch: different manipulation modes of single Cu atoms on Cu(111)

Single Cu atoms manipulated with a STM-tip at low temperatures across a Cu(111) surface reveal movement patterns which closely resemble classical movement of e.g. ping-pong balls on a muffin tin. Being pulled by the tip, they hop from one adsite to the next in a variety of patterns, whereby they can even occupy intermediate sites off the direct line of their movement, if the tip-atom force is chosen in the appropriate range.