We investigate insulating Cu2N islands grown on Cu(100) by means of combined scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy with two vastly different tips: a bare metal tip and a CO-terminated tip. We use scanning tunneling microscopy data as proposed by Choi, Ruggiero, and Gupta to unambiguously identify atomic positions. Atomic force microscopy images taken with the two different t...

Most ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic substances show a simple collinear arrangement of the local spins. Under certain circumstances, however, the spin configuration is non-collinear. Scanning tunneling microscopy with its potential atomic resolution is an ideal tool for investigating these complex spin structures. Non-collinearity can be due to topological frustration of the exchange intera...

The self-assembly of two emeraldine base tetra(aniline) derivatives is investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy. A combination of the scanning tunneling microscopy data and calculations reveals the presence of predicted cis/trans isomerism in this oxidation state. This isomerism is shown to hinder self-assembly into ordered structures, and provides indications as to why the properties o...

Based on scanning tunneling microscopy of the fivefold surface of the icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystal and the refined structure model of the isostructural i-Al-Pd-Mn, we present evidence that the surface corresponds to bulk truncations at the positions where blocks of atomic layers are separated by larger interlayer spacings (gaps). Both step-height distribution and high resolution scanning t...