Scattering of electrons on the Cu(001) surface by Co adatoms

Excited electrons at surfaces can be scattered by adsorbate atoms or defects, which changes the energy or momentum. Such scattering processes can be studied by energy, time and angle-resolved two-photon photoelectron spectroscopy. In this article the influence of statistically distributed Co adatoms on a Cu(001) surface on the dynamics of electrons in image-potential states is investigated. Different scattering mechanisms, such as interband, intraband, and bulk scattering are identified and analyzed quantitatively. Cobalt adatoms cause mainly quasielastic scattering of electrons in image-potential states. Inelastic processes are due to interactions with electrons in the substrate and are not significantly increased by Co adatoms. The results are compared to previous experimental and theoretical work on Cu adatoms. PACS 73.20.At; 68.49.Jk; 79.60.Ht     

Scattering by Cu adatoms between image-potential bands on Cu(001)

With the increasing resolution and sensitivity of photoelectron spectroscopy, the influence of defects is becoming more and more obvious. Scattering processes induced by adsorbate atoms can be studied by time- and angle-resolved two-photon photoemission. We have examined the dynamics of electrons in image-potential states on the Cu(001) surface for statistically distributed Cu adatoms and have identified different scattering mechanisms. Scattering of electrons from the second (n=2) to the bottom of the first (n=1) image-potential band is observed, which we attribute to inelastic interband scattering with electrons in the bulk. At energies above the bottom of the n=2 band, resonant interband scattering from the n=2 to the n=1 image-potential band is found. The rate for these processes can be determined by modeling the time-resolved measurements via optical Bloch equations of a four-level system. Comparison of the transition and decay rates reveals that the decay rate of the n=2 electrons is almost exclusively changed by additional resonant interband-scattering processes upon adsorption. PACS 73.20.At; 79.60.Ht; 68.49.Jk     

Scattering of Cu(1 0 0) image state electrons from single Cu adatoms and vacancies: A comparative study

A theoretical study of the electron dynamics in image potential states on Cu(1 0 0) surfaces with different types of defects (Cu adatoms and Cu vacancies) is presented for low defect density at the surface. A wave packet propagation approach is employed for the electron scattering calculations, where the defect induced potentials are obtained from an ab initio density functional study. Scattering of the image state electron by a defect induces inter-band and intra-band transitions leading, respectively, to the population decay and to the dephasing of the image states. Comparison of the respective effects of adatoms and vacancies shows that Cu adatoms are much more efficient in inducing population decay and dephasing of the image potential states. Present results for the case of Cu adatoms are compared with available time-resolved two-photon photoemission data.     

Narrow photoemission peak at the Fermi level in Fe/Cu(111)

We have studied electronic states of Fe adatoms deposited on Cu(111) by photoemission spectroscopy and have found a narrow peak at the Fermi level in the Fe 3d spectral function. The Fe 3d spectral function would be consistent with the Anderson impurity model, which has been widely used for the interpretation of bulk Ce and Yb compounds. This result indicates a strong reduction of hybridization between the Fe 3d state and the conduction-band states and an enhancement of effective Coulomb interaction for the Fe 3d electrons in an Fe adatom on Cu(111).     

Ab initio study of mirages and magnetic interactions in quantum corrals

The state of the art ab initio calculations of quantum mirages, the spin polarization of surface-state electrons, and the exchange interaction between magnetic adatoms in Cu and Co corrals on Cu(111) are presented. We find that the spin polarization of the surface-state electrons caused by magnetic adatoms can be projected to a remote location and can be strongly enhanced in corrals, compared to an open surface. Our studies give clear evidence that quantum corrals could permit one to tailor the exchange interaction between magnetic adatoms at large separations.     

Scanning-tunneling spectroscopy of surface-state electrons scattered by a slightly disordered two-dimensional dilute "solid": Ce on Ag(111)

Low temperature (3.9 K) scanning-tunneling spectroscopy on a hexagonal superlattice of Ce adatoms on Ag(111) reveals site-dependent characteristic features in differential conductance spectra and in spectroscopic images at atomic-scale spatial resolution. Using a tight-binding model, we relate the overall spectral structures to the scattering of Ag(111) surface-state electrons by the Ce adatoms, the site dependence to the disorder induced by imperfections of the superlattice, and the opening of a gap in the local density of states to the observed stabilization of superlattices with adatom distances in the range of 2.3-3.5 nm.     

Substrate mediated long-range oscillatory interaction between adatoms: Cu /Cu(111)

A quantitative study of the long-range interaction between single copper adatoms on Cu(111) mediated by the electrons in the two-dimensional surface-state band is presented. The interaction potential was determined by evaluating the distance distribution of two adatoms from a series of scanning tunneling microscopy images taken at temperatures of 9-21 K. The long-range interaction is oscillatory with a period of half the Fermi wavelength and decays for larger distances d as 1/d(2). Five potential minima were identified for separations of up to 70 A. The interaction significantly changes the growth of Cu/Cu(111) at low temperatures.     

Spin-dependent electron dynamics in front of a ferromagnetic surface

Exchange splitting and dynamics of image-potential states in front of a 3 monolayer iron film on Cu(100) have been studied with time-, energy-, and spin-resolved bichromatic two-photon photoemission. For the first image-potential state n=1 we observe an exchange splitting of 56 +/- 10 meV and spin-dependent lifetimes of 16 +/- 2 fs for majority-spin and of 11 +/- 2 fs for minority-spin electrons, respectively. The time-resolved studies of both the population and the linewidth of image-potential states manifest that at the magnetic surface not only inelastic but also quasielastic scattering processes are spin dependent.     

Mapping of the electron transmission through the wall of a quantum corral

We report on a theoretical study of the escape of confined surface states electrons from quantum corrals made of Cu adatoms on a Cu(1 1 1) surface. This study maps electron transmission through the corral wall and provides an extension of our earlier work focused on confinement in Cu corrals [S. Díaz-Tendero, F.E. Olsson, A.G. Borisov, J.P. Gauyacq, Phys. Rev. B 77 (2008) 205403]. The existence of two decay modes for the confined surface state is stressed: (i) non-resonant tunnelling through the corral wall concentrated on the Cu adatoms and (ii) a resonant-induced decay involving the transient formation of a resonant state localized on top of the corral wall. The present mapping of the electron transmission reveals how the interference between the two decay modes works: there exist regions where the electron leaves the corral, balanced by regions where it enters the corral, though the global behaviour of the quasi-stationary states is electron escape from the corral.     

表面Cu原子间相互作用对Cu(001)表面跳跃扩散行为的影响

采用嵌入原子方法的原子间相互作用势，利用准静态分子动力学模拟研究了Cu原子在Cu(001)表面吸附所导致的基体晶格畸变以及对其附近的另一个吸附原子自扩散行为的影响.研究结果表明，吸附原子的存在可以导致多达10层的Cu基体晶格产生畸变.两个吸附原子所产生的晶格畸变应力场之间的相互作用，可以导致吸附原子运动活性的增加.通过比较同一路径上往返跳跃扩散势垒的差异发现，在原子间相互作用势的有效距离之外，两个吸附原子的扩散行为可以认为是存在晶格畸变应力场相互作用的两个独立吸附原子的扩散；在原子间相互作用势的有效距离之 关键词： 表面吸附原子 晶格畸变 表面二聚体 扩散     

Lifetimes of stark-shifted image states

The inelastic lifetimes of electrons in image-potential states at Cu(100) that are Stark shifted by the electrostatic tip-sample interaction in the scanning tunneling microscope are calculated using the many-body GW approximation. The results demonstrate that in typical tunneling conditions the image state lifetimes are significantly reduced from their field-free values. The Stark shift to higher energies increases the number of inelastic scattering channels that are available for decay, with field-induced changes in the image state wave function increasing the efficiency of the inelastic scattering through greater overlap with final state wave functions.     

Two-dimensional electron gas at noble-metal surfaces

The electrons of the surface states on the (111) surfaces of the noble metals Au, Ag, and Cu form a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) free electron gas which is confined to the first few atomic layers at the crystal surface. They are scattered by the potential associated with surface defects, e.g. impurity atoms, adatoms, or step edges, leading to quantum-interference patterns in the local density of states around these defects. We have used the quantum-interference phenomena to quantitatively measure the electron phase-relaxation length and to probe long-range adsorbate interactions. Received: 12 October 2001 / Accepted: 23 October 2001 / Published online: 3 April 2002     

Kondo state of Co impurities at noble metal surfaces

We use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study the properties of magnetic Co adatoms on noble metal surfaces at 6 K. Due to spin-flip scattering of the substrate electrons at the impurity the many-body Kondo state forms. This state is characterized by an energy, the Kondo temperature T_K. We measure T_K of adatom systems and a resonant scattering phase shift locally and are thus able to discuss the coupling of the Co adatom to the metal electronic system. From the resonant scattering phase shift of the surface-state electrons scattering off a Co adatom on Ag(111), we find that the coupling to the surface state is rather weak. On the other hand, increasing the number of nearest neighbor substrate atoms increases the coupling of a Co adatom to the host metal and increases T_K. This shows the dominant character of the coupling of the Co atom to the bulk states of the substrate crystal. PACS 72.10.Fk; 68.37,Ef; 72.15.Qm     

Interaction between adatom-induced localized states and a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we investigate changes in the band dispersion of a free-electron-like surface state of [FORMULA: SEE TEXT], induced by adsorption of submonolayer Au adatoms. At room temperature, where the adatoms are in a two-dimensional adatom-gas phase, electrons are transferred from the Au adatoms to the substrate, shifting the surface band downwards and causing it to deviate from a parabolic dispersion. At 135 K where the Au adatoms are frozen at specific sites of the substrate, the band splits into two. This band splitting can be explained in terms of hybridization between the unperturbed surface band and the localized virtual bound states induced by the Au adatoms.     

Kondo effect of single Co adatoms on Cu surfaces

The Kondo resonance of Co adatoms on the Cu(100) and Cu(111) surfaces has been studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We demonstrate the scaling of the Kondo temperature T(K) with the host electron density at the magnetic impurity. The quantitative analysis of the tunneling spectra reveals that the Kondo resonance is dominated by the Cu bulk electrons. While at the Cu(100) surface both tunneling into the hybridized localized state and into the substrate conduction band contribute to the Kondo resonance, the latter channel is found to be dominant for Cu(111).     

On the charge transfer in the “single-sheet graphene-intercalated metal layer-SiC substrate” system

The proposed scheme for the consideration of charge transfer in the three-layer Gr/Me/SiC system (where Gr is a single-sheet graphene, Me is an intercalated metal layer, and SiC is a substrate) contains three stages. At the first stage, a metal monolayer adsorbed on silicon carbide is considered and the charge of adatoms in this monolayer is calculated. At the second stage, the shift of the Dirac point of free-standing single-layer graphene in an electrostatic field induced by charged adatoms of the monolayer is estimated. At the third stage, a weak interaction between Me/SiC and free-standing graphene is included, which allows electrons to tunnel but does not significantly distort the density of states of free-standing graphene. Estimations are performed for n- and p-type 6H-SiC(0001) substrates and Cu, Ag, and Au layers. The charge state of the graphene sheet and the shift of the Dirac point with respect to the Fermi level of the system are calculated. A comparison with the available experimental and theoretical results shows that the proposed scheme works quite satisfactorily.     

Electron scattering at steps: image-potential states on Cu(119)

The dynamics of image-potential states on Cu(119) have been studied with two-photon photoemission. Direction-dependent quasielastic scattering processes with large momentum transfer are attributed to the finite terrace-width distribution on the stepped surface. This effectively couples image-potential states via interband scattering and leads to an asymmetry of the decay rate. Electrons in the first image-potential state live apparently longer when running upstairs.     

异质原子在Cu（001）表面扩散的分子动力学模拟

采用分子动力学方法模拟单个增原子Ag,Pd和Cu在Cu（001）表面上的扩散过程.通过对自扩散和异质扩散过程中扩散机制的观察,统计三种不同的增原子在不同温度下的扩散频率,拟合给出扩散势垒和扩散频率的指前因子,并与扩散势垒的静力学计算结果进行比较.结果表明：在800 K以下时,三种增原子均以简单跳跃机制为主扩散,与衬底不互溶的Ag增原子的跳跃频率最大,与衬底互溶的Pd增原子的跳跃频率最小.同质增原子与异质增原子的扩散频率和温度的关系均较好地符合Arrhenius公式,由Arrhenius公式拟合给出的三种不同增原子的扩散势垒与表面结构和增原子表面结合能有关.Pd和Cu增原子从跳跃机制为主向交换机制为主的转换温度分别在825和937 K左右. 关键词： 表面扩散 分子动力学模拟     

Monte Carle simulation of quantum transport through nanostructures

We describe a numerical scheme of combining Monte Carlo procedure and quantum scattering theory to simulate electron transport processes through nanostructures. The transport of electrons through a nanostructure is a highly nontrivial nonequilibrium process in which we should consider the interplay of (i) complicated many-body quantum states in nanostructure, (ii) thermal relaxation processes keeping the leads (electron reservoirs) in local equilibrium, (iii) the coupling between the leads and the nanostructure, and (iv) the bias causing nonequilibrium, current, and evolution of quantum states in the nanostructure. Considering the quantum coherence within the nanostructure, we include the degrees of freedom of the nanostructure and a single tunneling electron and solve the Schrödinger equation for the many-body states to obtain the scattering matrix in the Fock space from which both the transmission of the electron and the variation of the states in nanostructure can be full quantum-mechanically calculated. The transport is investigated by the Monte Carlo simulation of successive scattering events of single electrons which are sampled with the Metropolis scheme governed by the scattering probabilities, the thermal statistics in the leads, and the applied bias. By this way from a given initial nanostructure state we can calculate the time evolutions of the current and the internal state. As examples we investigate the transmission of electrons through a two-level system. It is shown that the proposed method can properly deal with the inelastic effects in transport processes.     

Engineering electronic lifetimes in artificial atomic structures

By means of atomic manipulation, 51 Ag atoms have been precisely positioned to form a triangle with a base length of 245 A on a Ag(111) substrate. The scattering of the surface electrons at these adatoms results in a complex interference pattern. Spectroscopic data and dI/dV maps taken inside the triangle have been quantitatively evaluated by multiple scattering calculations of the wave pattern. Adjustment of the scattering parameters to the data yields the properties of the scatterers and the electron lifetimes. The experimental results for the electron lifetimes deviate from a (E-E(F))(-2) dependence and reflect the electronic band structure at the surface as well as the local influence of the triangle.