Recent advances in the study of magnetic atomic structures on noble metal surfaces are reviewed. These include one- dimensional strings, two-dimensional hexagonal superlattices, and novel structures stabilized by quantum guiding. The combined techniques of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and ab initio calculations reveal that surface-state-mediated adatom-step and adatom-adatom interactions are the driving forces for self- assembly of these structures. The formation conditions are further discussed by comparing various experimental systems and the kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and tight-binding calculations together, we reveal that the spectra of these well-ordered structures have characteristic peaks induced by electronic scattering processes of the atoms within the local environment. Moreover, it is demonstrated that quantum confinement by means of nano-size corrals has significant influence on adatom diffusion and self-assembly, leading to a quantum-guided self-assembly.
