Study of the Solid State Properties of an Organic Superconductor

1992 ◽  
Vol 247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul Fainchtein ◽  
S. T. D'arcangelo ◽  
S. S. Yangt ◽  
D. O. Cowant

ABSTRACTWe have synthesized cooper(I)di[bis(ethylenedithiolo)terathiafulvalene] bis(isothiocyanato), [(BEDT-TTF)2]+[Cu(NCS)2]using standard electrochemical methods. Single crystal samples of the compound were obtained and were found to have superconducting transition temperatures of 10.4 K, using DC conductivity measurements. [(BEDT-TTF)2+[Cu(NCS)2] shows a region between room temperature and 90 K which appears to be“semiconducting”To characterize the structure of the samples we used Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). STM supplied real-space images of the sample surface in accordance to its electronic structure. Ravy observed diffuse streaks between Bragg spots in his X-ray data of [(BEDT-TTF)2+[Cu(NCS)2]−, which he attributes to a stacking fault at every fourth repetition of the anion in the crystal structure [1]. STM shows no evidence for such disorder in [−(BEDT-TTF)2]+[Cu(NCS)2]−of the type proposed, and in fact illustrates direct evidence to the contrary. An intensity modulation in the STM data supports the possibility of a charge density wave commensurate with the lattice. This interpretation is consistent with the calculated Fermi surface which allows nesting of the wave vector and may explain the peculiar behavior of the temperature dependency of the conductivity data in the normal region.

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Sanna ◽  
Camilla Pellegrini ◽  
Eva Liebhaber ◽  
Kai Rossnagel ◽  
Katharina J. Franke ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and ab-initio study of the anisotropic superconductivity of 2H-NbSe2 in the charge-density-wave (CDW) phase. Differential-conductance spectra show a clear double-peak structure, which is well reproduced by density functional theory simulations enabling full k- and real-space resolution of the superconducting gap. The hollow-centered (HC) and chalcogen-centered (CC) CDW patterns observed in the experiment are mapped onto separate van der Waals layers with different electronic properties. We identify the CC layer as the high-gap region responsible for the main STM peak. Remarkably, this region belongs to the same Fermi surface sheet that is broken by the CDW gap opening. Simulations reveal a highly anisotropic distribution of the superconducting gap within single Fermi sheets, setting aside the proposed scenario of a two-gap superconductivity. Our results point to a spatially localized competition between superconductivity and CDW involving the HC regions of the crystal.


Author(s):  
R. Reifenberger ◽  
A. M. Baro ◽  
L. Vazquez ◽  
A. Bartolami ◽  
N. Garcia ◽  
...  

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is the newest method that allows real space imaging of surfaces on a scale extending to atomic dimensions. The STM technique was developed by C. Binnig, H. Rohrer, and co-workers at IBM Zurich laboratories and is notable for its ability to image a wide range of materials under a variety of different conditions. The technique has received considerable attention for its ability to provide information about postions of individual surface atoms with unprecendented three-dimensional resolution.The physical basis for the STM is a quantum mechanical electron tunneling from a sharp tip to a conducting substrate. The exponential dependence of the tunneling current with the tip-to-sample separation allows a measurement of vertical position differences smaller than ca. 0.01 nm often with a lateral resolution of better than ca. 0.2 nm. By rastering the tip across a sample surface while monitoring the tunneling current, a three dimensional topographic image of the surface can be obtained.


Author(s):  
J. A. Kubby

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy is a recently developed technique within the area of Scanned Image Microscopy that is based on tunneling between two conducting electrodes. This method offers, for the first time, the possibility of direct, real space determination of surface atomic and electronic structure in three dimensions on an atomic length scale, including nonperiodic structures.In this technique a sharp metal tip, mounted on a piezoelectric tripod that forms an orthogonal coordinate system, is brought to within a few Angstroms of the sample surface without “touching” the region to be scanned. A tunneling current I, on the order of 0.1 to 1 nA, is established by applying a bias between the tip and sample. The tunneling current is given to first order by;


Author(s):  
P.E. Russell ◽  
I.H. Musselman

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has evolved rapidly in the past few years. Major developments have occurred in instrumentation, theory, and in a wide range of applications. In this paper, an overview of the application of STM and related techniques to polymers will be given, followed by a discussion of current research issues and prospects for future developments. The application of STM to polymers can be conveniently divided into the following subject areas: atomic scale imaging of uncoated polymer structures; topographic imaging and metrology of man-made polymer structures; and modification of polymer structures. Since many polymers are poor electrical conductors and hence unsuitable for use as a tunneling electrode, the related atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique which is capable of imaging both conductors and insulators has also been applied to polymers.The STM is well known for its high resolution capabilities in the x, y and z axes (Å in x andy and sub-Å in z). In addition to high resolution capabilities, the STM technique provides true three dimensional information in the constant current mode. In this mode, the STM tip is held at a fixed tunneling current (and a fixed bias voltage) and hence a fixed height above the sample surface while scanning across the sample surface.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Ravnik ◽  
Michele Diego ◽  
Yaroslav Gerasimenko ◽  
Yevhenii Vaskivskyi ◽  
Igor Vaskivskyi ◽  
...  

AbstractMetastable self-organized electronic states in quantum materials are of fundamental importance, displaying emergent dynamical properties that may be used in new generations of sensors and memory devices. Such states are typically formed through phase transitions under non-equilibrium conditions and the final state is reached through processes that span a large range of timescales. Conventionally, phase diagrams of materials are thought of as static, without temporal evolution. However, many functional properties of materials arise as a result of complex temporal changes in the material occurring on different timescales. Hitherto, such properties were not considered within the context of a temporally-evolving phase diagram, even though, under non-equilibrium conditions, different phases typically evolve on different timescales. Here, by using time-resolved optical techniques and femtosecond-pulse-excited scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we track the evolution of the metastable states in a material that has been of wide recent interest, the quasi-two-dimensional dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2. We map out its temporal phase diagram using the photon density and temperature as control parameters on timescales ranging from 10−12 to 103 s. The introduction of a time-domain axis in the phase diagram enables us to follow the evolution of metastable emergent states created by different phase transition mechanisms on different timescales, thus enabling comparison with theoretical predictions of the phase diagram, and opening the way to understanding of the complex ordering processes in metastable materials.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Sergey Y. Sarvadii ◽  
Andrey K. Gatin ◽  
Vasiliy A. Kharitonov ◽  
Nadezhda V. Dokhlikova ◽  
Sergey A. Ozerin ◽  
...  

The adsorption of CO on the surface of Cu-based nanoparticles was studied in the presence of an external electric field by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Nanoparticles were synthesized on the surface of a graphite support by the impregnation–precipitation method. The chemical composition of the surface of the nanoparticles was determined as a mixture of Cu2O, Cu4O3 and CuO oxides. CO was adsorbed from the gas phase onto the surface of the nanoparticles. During the adsorption process, the potential differences ΔV = +1 or −1 V were applied to the vacuum gap between the sample and the grounded tip. Thus, the system of the STM tip and sample surface formed an asymmetric capacitor, inside which an inhomogeneous electric field existed. The CO adsorption process is accompanied by the partial reduction of nanoparticles. Due to the orientation of the CO molecule in the electric field, the reduction was weak in the case of a positive potential difference, while in the case of a negative potential difference, the reduction rate increased significantly. The ability to control the adsorption process of CO by means of an external electric field was demonstrated. The size of the nanoparticle was shown to be the key factor affecting the adsorption process, and particularly, the strength of the local electric field close to the nanoparticle surface.


2013 ◽  
Vol 203-204 ◽  
pp. 42-47
Author(s):  
Albert Prodan ◽  
Herman J.P. van Midden ◽  
Erik Zupanič ◽  
Rok Žitko

Charge density wave (CDW) ordering in NbSe3 and the structurally related quasi one-dimensional compounds is reconsidered. Since the modulated ground state is characterized by unstable nano-domains, the structural information obtained from diffraction experiments is to be supplemented by some additional information from a method, able to reveal details on a unit cell level. Low-temperature (LT) scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) can resolve both, the local atomic structure and the superimposed charge density modulation. It is shown that the established model for NbSe3 with two incommensurate (IC) modes, q1 = (0,0.241,0) and q2 = (0.5,0.260,0.5), locked in at T1=144K and T2=59K and separately confined to two of the three available types of bi-capped trigonal prismatic (BCTP) columns, must be modified. The alternative explanation is based on the existence of modulated layered nano-domains and is in good accord with the available LT STM results. These confirm i.a. the presence of both IC modes above the lower CDW transition temperature. Two BCTP columns, belonging to a symmetry-related pair, are as a rule alternatively modulated by the two modes. Such pairs of columns are ordered into unstable layered nano-domains, whose q1 and q2 sub-layers are easily interchanged. The mutually interchangeable sections of the two unstable IC modes keep a temperature dependent long-range ordering. Both modes can formally be replaced by a single highly inharmonic long-period commensurate CDW.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document