Mechanical and electronic manipulation of nanometer-sized wires

By employing the low-energy electron projection microscope for in situ visual control, it has been possible to attach or detach a fine manipulating tip to or from a carbon fiber network. In this way we were able to apply an electrical potential to a single nanometer-sized fiber while observing the electron projection images at TV rates. We also measured the maximal current through individual freestanding wires of diameter approximately 10 nm and lengths approximately 1 mu m. It turned out that these carbon wires are able to transport a current density exceeding one million A cm-2 at room temperature.