Tunneling microscopy, lithography, and surface diffusion on an easily prepared, atomically flat gold surface

We show that a gold surface with atomically flat terraces as large as (150 nm)2 can be easily prepared in air by melting a gold wire with an oxyacetylene torch. Features with characteristic dimensions as low as 10 nm can be written and observed on these terraces with a scanning tunneling microscope. The features are appreciably distorted by diffusion within an hour.