2 research outputs found
Measuring the Three-Dimensional Structure of Ultrathin Insulating Films at the Atomic Scale
The increasing technological importance of thin insulating layers calls for a thorough understanding of their structure. Here we apply scanning probe methods to investigate the structure of ultrathin magnesium oxide (MgO) which is the insulating material of choice in spintronic applications. A combination of force and current measurements gives high spatial resolution maps of the local three-dimensional insulator structure. When force measurements are not available, a lower spatial resolution can be obtained from tunneling images at different voltages. These broadly applicable techniques reveal a previously unknown complexity in the structure of MgO on Ag(001), such as steps in the insulator–metal interface
All-Electrical Driving and Probing of Dressed States in a Single Spin
The subnanometer distance between tip and sample in a
scanning
tunneling microscope (STM) enables the application of very large electric
fields with a strength as high as ∼1 GV/m. This has allowed
for efficient electrical driving of Rabi oscillations of a single
spin on a surface at a moderate radiofrequency (RF) voltage on the
order of tens of millivolts. Here, we demonstrate the creation of
dressed states of a single electron spin localized in the STM tunnel
junction by using resonant RF driving voltages. The read-out of these
dressed states was achieved all electrically
by a weakly coupled probe spin. Our work highlights
the strength of the atomic-scale geometry inherent to the STM that
facilitates the creation and control of dressed states, which are
promising for the design of atomic scale quantum devices using individual
spins on surfaces