Theoretical Study of tip apex electronic structure in Scanning Tunneling Microscope

POSTER

Abstract

Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) has been widely used to explore diverse surface properties with an atomic resolution, and STM tip has played a critical role in controlling surface structures. However, detailed information of atomic and electronic structure of STM tip and the fundamental understanding of STM images are still incomplete. Therefore, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of the electronic structure of STM tip. We have studied the atomic and electronic structures of STM tip with various transition metals (TMs) by DFT method. The d-electrons of TM tip apex atoms show different orbital states near the Fermi level. We will present comprehensive data of STM tips from our DFT calculation. Verified quantification of the tip electronic structures will lead to fundamental understanding of STM tip structure-property relationship. This work is supported by the DARPA TBN Program and the Texas ETF.

Authors

  • Heesung Choi

    Department of Materials Science \& Engineering and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas

  • Min Huang

    Department of Materials Science \& Engineering and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas

  • John Randall

    Zyvex Lab, Zyvex Labs

  • Kyeongjae Cho

    University of Texas at Dallas, Department of Physics and Department Materials Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, Materials Science \& Engineering Dept, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, Department of Material Science \& Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Tx 75080, Department of Materials Science \& Engineering and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas