Picosecond Resolution in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

A method has been developed for performing fast time-resolved experiments with a scanning tunneling microscope. The method uses the intrinsic nonlinearity in the microscope's current versus voltage characteristics to resolve optically generated transient signals on picosecond time scales. The ability to combine the spatial resolution of tunneling microscopy with the time resolution of ultrafast optics yields a powerful tool for the investigation of dynamic phenomena on the atomic scale.

[1]  E. Stoll,et al.  Scanning tunneling microscopy of recA-DNA complexes coated with a conducting film , 1988 .

[2]  R. Hamers,et al.  Ultrafast time resolution in scanned probe microscopies: Surface photovoltage on Si(111)-(7 × 7) , 1991 .

[3]  Kochanski,et al.  Nonlinear alternating-current tunneling microscopy. , 1989, Physical review letters.

[4]  John G. Simmons,et al.  Low‐Voltage Current‐Voltage Relationship of Tunnel Junctions , 1963 .

[5]  Shimon Weiss,et al.  Ultrafast scanning probe microscopy , 1993 .

[6]  David M. Bloom,et al.  Picosecond electrical sampling using a scanning force microscope , 1992 .

[7]  D. Auston.  Picosecond optoelectronic switching and gating in silicon , 1975 .

[8]  H. Walther,et al.  Laser‐frequency mixing in the junction of a scanning tunneling microscope , 1987 .

[9]  P. Leiderer,et al.  Detection of surface plasmons by scanning tunneling microscopy , 1991 .

[10]  G. Binnig,et al.  Tunneling through a controllable vacuum gap , 1982 .

[11]  Nguyen,et al.  Proposed use of a scanning-tunneling-microscope tunnel junction for the measurement of a tunneling time. , 1987, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[12]  D. Eigler,et al.  Positioning single atoms with a scanning tunnelling microscope , 1990, Nature.

[13]  Dean Ripple,et al.  Photothermal modulation of the gap distance in scanning tunneling microscopy , 1986 .

[14]  David G. Cahill,et al.  Ultrafast time resolution in scanned probe microscopies , 1990 .