Direct observation of fullerene-adsorbed tips by scanning tunneling microscopy

We have succeeded in imaging individual C60 molecules that have been adsorbed onto the tunneling region of a scanning tunneling microscopy tip. The individual tip-adsorbed molecules are imaged by scanning the fullerene-adsorbed tip over a defect covered graphite surface. The defects are generated by low energy argon ion bombardment and protrude from the graphite surface. These nanometer-size defects serve as a surface tip array which inverse images the molecules adsorbed to the tip when the surface is scanned.