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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 87 » Issue 23
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 236104 (2001) [4 pages]

Surface Relaxations, Current Enhancements, and Absolute Distances in High Resolution Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

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W. A. Hofer and A. J. Fisher
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

R. A. Wolkow
Steacie Institute of Molecular Sciences, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0R6

P. Grütter
Physics Department, McGill University, 3600 rue University, Montreal, Canada H3A 2T8

Received 29 May 2001; published 14 November 2001

See accompanying Physics Focus

We have performed the most realistic simulation to date of the operation of a scanning tunneling microscope. Probe-sample distances from beyond tunneling to actual surface contact are covered. We simultaneously calculate forces, atomic displacements, and tunneling currents, allowing quantitative comparison with experimental values. A distance regime below which the probe becomes unstable is identified. It is shown that the real distance differs substantially from previous estimates because of large atomic displacements on the surface and at the probe tip.

© 2001 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.236104
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.236104
PACS:
68.37.Ef, 71.15.Mb, 73.40.Gk
 
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