Linear atomic chains containing a single Kondo atom, Co, and several nonmagnetic atoms, Cu, were assembled atom by atom on Cu(111) with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The resulting one-dimensional wires, ${\mathrm{Cu}}_m{\mathrm{CoCu}}_n$ ($0\le m,n\le 5$), exhibit a rich evolution of the single-Co Kondo effect with the variation of $m$ and $n$, as inferred from changes in the line shape of the Abrikosov-Suhl-Kondo resonance. The most striking result is the quenching of the resonance in ${\mathrm{CuCoCu}}_2$ and ${\mathrm{Cu}}_2{\mathrm{CoCu}}_2$ clusters. State-of-the-art first-principles calculations were performed to unravel possible microscopic origins of the remarkable experimental observations.

• Received 4 December 2019
• Revised 22 April 2020
• Accepted 14 May 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.023309

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Published by the American Physical Society