121 research outputs found
Surface-State Localization at Adatoms
Low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy of magnetic and non-magnetic
metal atoms on Ag(111) and on Cu(111) surfaces reveals the existence of a
common electronic resonance at an energy below the binding energies of the
surface states. Using an extended Newns-Anderson model, we assign this
resonance to an adsorbate-induced bound state, split off from the bottom of the
surface-state band, and broadened by the interaction with bulk states. A
lineshape analysis of the bound state indicates that native adatoms decrease
the surface-state lifetime, while a cobalt adatom causes no significant change.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Imaging isodensity contours of molecular states with STM
We present an improved way for imaging the local density of states with a
scanning tunneling microscope, which consists in mapping the surface topography
while keeping the differential conductance (d/d) constant. When
archetypical C molecules on Cu(111) are imaged with this method, these
so-called iso-d/d maps are in excellent agreement with theoretical
simulations of the isodensity contours of the molecular orbitals. A direct
visualization and unambiguous identification of superatomic C orbitals
and their hybridization is then possible
Controlled Contact to a C60 Molecule
The conductance of C60 on Cu(100) is investigated with a low-temperature
scanning tunneling microscope. At the transition from tunneling to the contact
regime the conductance of C60 adsorbed with a pentagon-hexagon bond rises
rapidly to 0.25 conductance quanta G0. An abrupt conductance jump to G0 is
observed upon further decreasing the distance between the instrument's tip and
the surface. Ab-initio calculations within density functional theory and
non-equilibrium Green's function techniques explain the experimental data in
terms of the conductance of an essentially undeformed C60. From a detailed
analysis of the crossover from tunneling to contact we conclude that the
conductance in this region is strongly affected by structural fluctuations
which modulate the tip-molecule distance.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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