Photon Emission at Molecular Resolution Induced by a Scanning Tunneling Microscope

Abstract

The tip-surface region of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) emits light when the energy of the tunneling electrons is sufficient to excite luminescent processes. These processes provide access to dynamic aspects of the local electronic structure that are not directly amenable to conventional STM experiments. From monolayer films of carbon-60 fullerenes on gold(110) surfaces, intense emission is observed when the STM tip is placed above an individual molecule. The diameter of this emission spot associated with carbon-60 is approximately 4 angstroms. These results demonstrate the highest spatial resolution of light emission to date with a scanning probe technique.

Single-Molecule Investigation of Energy Dynamics in a Coupled Plasmon-Exciton System

“…In contrast to the conventional techniques using external light sources, scanning tunnelling luminescence (STL) spectroscopy, where luminescence is induced by the atomically localised tunnelling current of STM, provides a unique way to investigate local optical properties of matters 5,12,[14][15][16][17][18][19] . A previous STL study reports that the energy of the localised plasmon in the tunnelling junction of an STM is absorbed by molecules located close to the STM tip 20 .…”

Visible Light Emission from Atomic Scale Patterns Fabricated by the Scanning Tunneling Microscope

“…However, experimental observations of the properties of artificial atomic scale structures created by STM have been limited until now. Gimzewski et al [4] and Berndt et al [5] have pioneered another ability of the STM. Detecting photons emitted from the tunnel gap of the STM, they showed that light emission characteristics of sample surfaces can be obtained with atomic scale spatial resolution.…”

“…The STM image was recorded using normal constant current imaging conditions. Figure 1(B) shows the photon intensity as a function of the position of the STM (photon map [4,5]). The photon map was recorded at the same area as in Fig.…”

Field induced manipulation of fullerene molecules with the STM: a self-consistent theoretical study

“…We will focus our attention on a standard system for STM: fullerene molecules adsorbed on a metallic surface [18][19][20]. We consider a (110) oriented copper tip apex brought to the proximity of an hexagonal aggregate of seven C60 molecules adsorbed on a gold surface.…”