Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
A combinatorial PLD-STM system has been developed for quick nano-fabrication and evaluation of epitaxial thin films and catalysts. Through a gate valve, a combinatorial nano-materials library fabricated in a PLD chamber can be transferred to a surface analysis chamber equipped with LEED and STM. The LEED pattern and atomically resolved STM image for systematically varied samples in the library are measured by locating one sample to another at the electron beam and STM probe position. In this way, we have quickly elucidated the initial growth process of SrO on SrTiO3(001) as well as surface structures of transition metal deposited TiO2 anatase. The combinatorial PLD-STM system has been verified to be very efficient technique for the exploration and optimization of nano-materials.