Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1387–1390 (1993)Tip-surface interactions in scanning tunneling microscopyReceived 16 April 1993; published in the issue dated 30 August 1993 The tip-surface interactions in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of the Si(100) surface are investigated with ab initio total energy pseudopotential calculations. The results of the calculations lead to a new understanding of the microscopic STM measurement process. It is found that under typical conditions the influence of the tip is large enough to effectively flip a dimer on this surface. This leads to a reinterpretation of the ‘‘symmetric’’ dimer STM image as an asymmetric dimer configuration that flips as it follows the motion of the scanning tip. © 1993 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.1387
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.1387
PACS:
61.16.Ch, 68.35.Bs
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