Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopies of Magnetic Atoms, Clusters, and Molecules

2018 ◽  
pp. 25-53
Author(s):  
Jörg Kröger ◽  
Alexander Weismann ◽  
Richard Berndt ◽  
Simon Altenburg ◽  
Thomas Knaak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scanning Tunneling

STM studies of crystal growth

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 374-375
Author(s):  
M. G. Lagally
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Growth ◽  
Molecular Beam ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Sputter Deposition ◽  
Field Of View ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Wide Field Of View ◽  
The One

It has been recognized since the earliest days of crystal growth that kinetic processes of all Kinds control the nature of the growth. As the technology of crystal growth has become ever more refined, with the advent of such atomistic processes as molecular beam epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition, sputter deposition, and plasma enhanced techniques for the creation of “crystals” as little as one or a few atomic layers thick, multilayer structures, and novel materials combinations, the need to understand the mechanisms controlling the growth process is becoming more critical. Unfortunately, available techniques have not lent themselves well to obtaining a truly microscopic picture of such processes. Because of its atomic resolution on the one hand, and the achievable wide field of view on the other (of the order of micrometers) scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) gives us this opportunity. In this talk, we briefly review the types of growth kinetics measurements that can be made using STM. The use of STM for studies of kinetics is one of the more recent applications of what is itself still a very young field.

Resolution in the scanning tunneling microscope

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 488-489
Author(s):  
R. J. Wilson ◽  
D. D. Chambliss ◽  
S. Chiang ◽  
V. M. Hallmark
Keyword(s):  
Scanning Tunneling Microscope ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Lateral Resolution ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Electronic Noise ◽  
Vertical Resolution ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Spatial Profile ◽  
Theoretical Analyses

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been used for many atomic scale observations of metal and semiconductor surfaces. The fundamental principle of the microscope involves the tunneling of evanescent electrons through a 10Å gap between a sharp tip and a reasonably conductive sample at energies in the eV range. Lateral and vertical resolution are used to define the minimum detectable width and height of observed features. Theoretical analyses first discussed lateral resolution in idealized cases, and recent work includes more general considerations. In all cases it is concluded that lateral resolution in STM depends upon the spatial profile of electronic states of both the sample and tip at energies near the Fermi level. Vertical resolution is typically limited by mechanical and electronic noise.

Scanning tunneling microscopy of E. coli RNA polymerase deposited onto an Au substrate by an electrochemical process

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 378-379
Author(s):  
Rebecca W. Keller ◽  
Carlos Bustamante ◽  
David Bear
Keyword(s):  
Scanning Tunneling Microscope ◽  
Biological Sample ◽  
Substrate Surface ◽  
Electrochemical Process ◽  
Atomic Resolution ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Tunneling Microscope ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Preparation Techniques

Under ideal conditions, the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) can create atomic resolution images of different kinds of samples. The STM can also be operated in a variety of non-vacuum environments. Because of its potentially high resolution and flexibility of operation, it is now being applied to image biological systems. Several groups have communicated the imaging of double and single stranded DNA.However, reproducibility is still the main problem with most STM results on biological samples. One source of irreproducibility is unreliable sample preparation techniques. Traditional deposition methods used in electron microscopy, such as glow discharge and spreading techniques, do not appear to work with STM. It seems that these techniques do not fix the biological sample strongly enough to the substrate surface. There is now evidence that there are strong forces between the STM tip and the sample and, unless the sample is strongly bound to the surface, it can be swept aside by the tip.

Experiments with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) mounted in a scanning electron microscope (SEM)

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 636-639
Author(s):  
Oliver C. Wells ◽  
Mark E. Welland
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscope ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Tunneling Current ◽  
Feedback System ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Surface Profiling ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Metal Tip ◽  
Scanning Electron

Scanning tunneling microscopes (STM) exist in two versions. In both of these, a pointed metal tip is scanned in close proximity to the specimen surface by means of three piezos. The distance of the tip from the sample is controlled by a feedback system to give a constant tunneling current between the tip and the sample. In the low-end STM, the system has a mechanical stability and a noise level to give a vertical resolution of between 0.1 nm and 1.0 nm. The atomic resolution STM can show individual atoms on the surface of the specimen.A low-end STM has been put into the specimen chamber of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The first objective was to investigate technological problems such as surface profiling. The second objective was for exploratory studies. This second objective has already been achieved by showing that the STM can be used to study trapping sites in SiO2.

SEM/FESEM imaging of lamellar structures in melt extruded polyethylene films

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1142-1143
Author(s):  
R.T. Chen ◽  
M.G. Jamieson ◽  
R. Callahan
Keyword(s):  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Extrusion Direction ◽  
Polymeric Membranes ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Crystalline Polymers ◽  
Lamellar Structures ◽  
Resolution Imaging

“Row lamellar” structures have previously been observed when highly crystalline polymers are melt-extruded and recrystallized under high stress. With annealing to perfect the stacked lamellar superstructure and subsequent stretching in the machine (extrusion) direction, slit-like micropores form between the stacked lamellae. This process has been adopted to produce polymeric membranes on a commercial scale with controlled microporous structures. In order to produce the desired pore morphology, row lamellar structures must be established in the membrane precursors, i.e., as-extruded and annealed polymer films or hollow fibers. Due to the lack of pronounced surface topography, the lamellar structures have typically been investigated by replica-TEM, an indirect and time consuming procedure. Recently, with the availability of high resolution imaging techniques such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), the microporous structures on the membrane surface as well as lamellar structures in the precursors can be directly examined.The materials investigated are Celgard® polyethylene (PE) flat sheet membranes and their film precursors, both as-extruded and annealed, made at different extrusion rates (E.R.).

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of the topography of silicon surfaces exposed to ion beams

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1132-1133
Author(s):  
Mark Denker ◽  
Jennifer Wall ◽  
Mark Ray ◽  
Richard Linton
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Depth Profiling ◽  
Depth Resolution ◽  
Ion Beams ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Trace Impurities ◽  
Energy Dose

Reactive ion beams such as O2+ and Cs+ are used in Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) to analyze solids for trace impurities. Primary beam properties such as energy, dose, and incidence angle can be systematically varied to optimize depth resolution versus sensitivity tradeoffs for a given SIMS depth profiling application. However, it is generally observed that the sputtering process causes surface roughening, typically represented by nanometer-sized features such as cones, pits, pyramids, and ripples. A roughened surface will degrade the depth resolution of the SIMS data. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of the roughness of the surface to the primary ion beam energy, dose, and incidence angle. AFM offers the ability to quantitatively probe this surface roughness. For the initial investigations, the sample chosen was <100> silicon, and the ion beam was O2+.Work to date by other researchers typically employed Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) to probe the surface topography.

A TEM study of electron tunneling in biological macromolecules

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 140-141
Author(s):  
J. A. Panitz
Keyword(s):  
Stark Effect ◽  
Electron Tunneling ◽  
Imaging Modality ◽  
Tunneling Current ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Flat Surfaces ◽  
Virus Particles ◽  
Stm Images

Tunneling is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Alpha particle disintegration, the Stark effect, superconductivity in thin films, field-emission, and field-ionization are examples of electron tunneling phenomena. In the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) electron tunneling is used as an imaging modality. STM images of flat surfaces show structure at the atomic level. However, STM images of large biological species deposited onto flat surfaces are disappointing. For example, unstained virus particles imaged in the STM do not resemble their TEM counterparts.It is not clear how an STM image of a biological species is formed. Most biological species are large compared to the nominal electrode separation of ∼ 1nm that is required for electron tunneling. To form an image of a biological species, the tunneling electrodes must be separated by a distance that would normally be too large for a tunneling current to be observed.

Scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy: New tools for biology

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 778-779
Author(s):  
CE Bracker ◽  
P. K. Hansma
Keyword(s):  
Physical Property ◽  
Scanning Probe ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
New Family ◽  
Small Probe ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Transmission Electron

A new family of scanning probe microscopes has emerged that is opening new horizons for investigating the fine structure of matter. The earliest and best known of these instruments is the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). First published in 1982, the STM earned the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for two of its inventors, G. Binnig and H. Rohrer. They shared the prize with E. Ruska for his work that had led to the development of the transmission electron microscope half a century earlier. It seems appropriate that the award embodied this particular blend of the old and the new because it demonstrated to the world a long overdue respect for the enormous contributions electron microscopy has made to the understanding of matter, and at the same time it signalled the dawn of a new age in microscopy. What we are seeing is a revolution in microscopy and a redefinition of the concept of a microscope.Several kinds of scanning probe microscopes now exist, and the number is increasing. What they share in common is a small probe that is scanned over the surface of a specimen and measures a physical property on a very small scale, at or near the surface. Scanning probes can measure temperature, magnetic fields, tunneling currents, voltage, force, and ion currents, among others.

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of DNA and RNA

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Patricia G. Arscott ◽  
Gil Lee ◽  
Victor A. Bloomfield ◽  
D. Fennell Evans
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Structures ◽  
Inorganic Materials ◽  
Resolving Power ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Dna And Rna ◽  
Calf Thymus ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

STM is one of the most promising techniques available for visualizing the fine details of biomolecular structure. It has been used to map the surface topography of inorganic materials in atomic dimensions, and thus has the resolving power not only to determine the conformation of small molecules but to distinguish site-specific features within a molecule. That level of detail is of critical importance in understanding the relationship between form and function in biological systems. The size, shape, and accessibility of molecular structures can be determined much more accurately by STM than by electron microscopy since no staining, shadowing or labeling with heavy metals is required, and there is no exposure to damaging radiation by electrons. Crystallography and most other physical techniques do not give information about individual molecules.We have obtained striking images of DNA and RNA, using calf thymus DNA and two synthetic polynucleotides, poly(dG-me5dC)·poly(dG-me5dC) and poly(rA)·poly(rU).

A study on α-RuCl3 crystal structure by scanning tunneling microscopy

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 30-31
Author(s):  
H.-J. Cantow ◽  
H. Hillebrecht ◽  
S. Magonov ◽  
H. W. Rotter ◽  
G. Thiele
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Density Distribution ◽  
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Structure Determination ◽  
Electron Density Distribution ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Monoclinic Space Group ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
X Ray

From X-ray analysis, the conclusions are drawn from averaged molecular informations. Thus, limitations are caused when analyzing systems whose symmetry is reduced due to interatomic interactions. In contrast, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) directly images atomic scale surface electron density distribution, with a resolution up to fractions of Angstrom units. The crucial point is the correlation between the electron density distribution and the localization of individual atoms, which is reasonable in many cases. Thus, the use of STM images for crystal structure determination may be permitted. We tried to apply RuCl3 - a layered material with semiconductive properties - for such STM studies. From the X-ray analysis it has been assumed that α-form of this compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m (AICI3 type). The chlorine atoms form an almost undistorted cubic closed package while Ru occupies 2/3 of the octahedral holes in every second layer building up a plane hexagon net (graphite net). Idealizing the arrangement of the chlorines a hexagonal symmetry would be expected. X-ray structure determination of isotypic compounds e.g. IrBr3 leads only to averaged positions of the metal atoms as there exist extended stacking faults of the metal layers.

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