Scribd
Upload
10 views

How_an_STM_Works

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operates by scanning a sharp metal tip over a surface, utilizing quantum tunneling to image surfaces at atomic scales. Key principles include tunneling, which allows electrons to pass through barriers, and the piezoelectric effect for precise tip positioning. A feedback loop monitors tunneling current to maintain a constant current, enabling the generation of detailed 3D images of electronic topography.

Uploaded by

mikehuntkill04
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views

How_an_STM_Works

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operates by scanning a sharp metal tip over a surface, utilizing quantum tunneling to image surfaces at atomic scales. Key principles include tunneling, which allows electrons to pass through barriers, and the piezoelectric effect for precise tip positioning. A feedback loop monitors tunneling current to maintain a constant current, enabling the generation of detailed 3D images of electronic topography.

Uploaded by

mikehuntkill04
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

How an STM Works

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) works by scanning a very sharp metal wire tip
over a surface. By bringing the tip very close to the surface, and by applying an electrical
voltage to the tip or sample, we can image the surface at an extremely small scale – down
to resolving individual atoms.

3D rendered
Scanning Tunneling Microscope image of atoms.
The STM is based on several principles. One is the quantum mechanical effect of tunneling.
It is this effect that allows us to “see” the surface. Another principle is the piezoelectric
effect. It is this effect that allows us to precisely scan the tip with angstrom-level control.
Lastly, a feedback loop is required, which monitors the tunneling current and coordinates
the current and the positioning of the tip. This is shown schematically below where the
tunneling is from tip to surface with the tip rastering with piezoelectric positioning, with the
feedback loop maintaining a current setpoint to generate a 3D image of the electronic
topography:
Schematic of
scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).
Tunneling

Tunneling is a quantum mechanical effect. A tunneling current occurs when electrons move
through a barrier that they classically shouldn’t be able to move through. In classical terms,
if you don’t have enough energy to move “over” a barrier, you won’t. However, in the
quantum mechanical world, electrons have wavelike properties. These waves don’t end
abruptly at a wall or barrier, but taper off quickly. If the barrier is thin enough, the
probability function may extend into the next region, through the barrier! Because of the
small probability of an electron being on the other side of the barrier, given enough
electrons, some will indeed move through and appear on the other side. When an electron
moves through the barrier in this fashion, it is called tunneling.

Quantum mechanics tells us that electrons have both wave and particle-like properties.
Tunneling is an effect of the wavelike nature.
Schematic of electron wavefunction.
The top image shows us that when an electron (the wave) hits a barrier, the wave doesn’t
abruptly end, but tapers off very quickly – exponentially. For a thick barrier, the wave
doesn’t get past.

The bottom image shows the scenario if the barrier is quite thin (about a nanometer). Part
of the wave does get through and therefore some electrons may appear on the other side
of the barrier.

Because of the sharp decay of the probability function through the barrier, the number of
electrons that will actually tunnel is very dependent upon the thickness of the barrier. The
current through the barrier drops off exponentially with the barrier thickness.

To extend this description to the STM: The starting point of the electron is either the tip or
sample, depending on the setup of the instrument. The barrier is the gap (air, vacuum,
liquid), and the second region is the other side, i.e. tip or sample, depending on the
experimental setup. By monitoring the current through the gap, we have very good control
of the tip-sample distance.
Feedback loop and
electron tunneling for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).
Feedback Loop

Electronics are needed to measure the current, scan the tip, and translate this information
into a form that we can use for STM imaging. A feedback loop constantly monitors the
tunneling current and makes adjustments to the tip to maintain a constant tunneling
current. These adjustments are recorded by the computer and presented as an image in the
STM software. Such a setup is called a constant current image.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy