Focusing of the ion beam from a scanning tunneling microscope tip

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Abstract
The effect of polarization of ions in an electric field on their trajectories is considered with respect to the mass transfer from the tip. The effect is in focusing of the ion beam due to the dipole momenta of the ions induced by the electric field between the tip and the surface. The dependence of the focusing effect on the tip shape, distance and potential difference between the tip and the surface as well as on material the tip is made of and the kind of the ions, is investigated. The results show the possibility of utilizing the focusing effect in installations for producing a molecule-size structure on the surface, e.g., in nanoelectronics.