Light emission induced by tunneling electrons from surface nanostructures observed by novel conductive and transparent probes

✍ Scribed by Daisuke Fujita; Keiko Onishi; Noriko Niori

• Book ID: 102889532
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 862 KB
• Volume: 64
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1059-910X
• DOI: 10.1002/jemt.20099

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

We have developed an ultrahigh‐vacuum low‐temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM) equipped with a near‐field optical detection system using novel conductive and optically transparent probes. Tunneling‐electron induced photons generated in a nanometer‐scale area just under the STM probe can be collected directly into the core of the optical fiber probe within the optical near‐field region. Firstly, optical fiber probes coated with indium‐tin‐oxide thin film are applied to quantitative analysis of p‐type GaAs(110) surface, where a decrease of light emission in photon mapping clearly extracts the existence of Zn accepter atoms located at the sub‐surface layers. Secondly, in order to enhance the efficiency for inelastic tunneling excitation of a tip‐induced plasmon mode, a STM probe coated with an Ag/ITO dual‐layer film has been developed and applied to an Ag(111) surface, where photon mapping with a step resolution has been achieved by near‐filed detection. Microsc. Res. Tech. 64:403–414, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.