Light emission from the tunneling junction of the scanning tunneling microscope

Light emission from gold and silver thin films in a scanning tunneling microscope: role of contamination and interpretation of grain structure in photon maps

“…In related work, Smolyaninov et al [37] reported light intensity versus bias, L(V), data for the following tip-sample combinations: Au-Au, Ag-Au, Au-Pt and Ag-Pt using a novel instrument in which a metal coated optical fibre acted as combined STM tip and light collector. Intensity peaks were seen at different biases in the range 1.5-4 V for the various combinations, sometimes with multiple peaks.…”

Light emission induced by a scanning tunnel microscope from a doubly layered substrate

“…Experiments on the photon emission STM ͑PESTM͒ using substrates covered with organic molecules have been performed from just after the discovery of PESTM, [12][13][14][15] and it is expected as an observation tool for physical and chemical states of molecular layers on substrates. Although interests of some of them may be in the luminescence from the individual molecules in the STM configuration, it is very hard to identify the location of the single molecules when their distribution is sparse.…”

Color imaging with a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope

“…Increasing the tunneling current in many cases leads to spontaneous surface modifications preventing reproducible experimentation. Consequently, a number of STM-designs optimized for maximum photon collection efficiency have been reported, which make use of lenses, 10-17 mirrors, 7,18,19 transparent tips, 20,21 and single or bundles of optical fibers. 20,[22][23][24] Using these instruments, a number of modes of measurement have been successfully implemented to characterize various aspects of the light emission.…”

“…Consequently, a number of STM-designs optimized for maximum photon collection efficiency have been reported, which make use of lenses, 10-17 mirrors, 7,18,19 transparent tips, 20,21 and single or bundles of optical fibers. 20,[22][23][24] Using these instruments, a number of modes of measurement have been successfully implemented to characterize various aspects of the light emission. Photon maps are obtained in a constant-current mode simultaneously with topographic data by recording the photon intensity for each pixel of the image using photomultipliers ͑PMTs͒ or avalanche photodiodes.…”