Individual clusters of gold, grown in a gas aggregation reactor and deposited on a variety of different substrates, have been studied using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy, field emission techniques, and field ion microscopy. The scanning tunneling microscope studies show that by proper choice of substrate, individual nanometer-sized clusters can be reproducibly imaged and studied. The field emission and field ion microscope studies yield information about the work function and melting temperature of individual supported clusters.
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Castro et al. (1989) studied this question.