STM/STS investigation of carbon nanotube junctions

In this paper we present scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy investigations of multiwall carbon nanotube junctions. We concentrated on bent and narrowing junctions, which my be formed by introducing pentagon–heptagon defects into a hexagonal network of a carbon nanotube. It was expected that the defects introduced to the nanotube could cause changes in the local density of states. The scanning tunneling spectroscopy results were used to search for and identify these defects. We also discuss a hypothesis for a combination of a telescope junction and a pentagon–heptagon induced junction. PACS 68.37.Ef; 73.22.–f; 61.46.Fg; 71.20.Tx     

Metallic glass electronic structure peculiarities revealed by UHV STM/STS

We present the results of ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy investigation of metallic glass surface. The topography and electronic structure of Ni_63.5Nb_36.5 have been studied. A great number of clusters with size about 5–10 nm have been found on constant current scanning tunneling microscopy images. The tunneling spectra of normalized tunneling conductivity revealed the energy pseudogap in the vicinity of Fermi energy. For energy values above 0.1 eV the normalized tunneling conductivity changes linearly with increasing of tunneling bias. The obtained results can be understood within suggested theoretical model based on the interplay of elastic electron scattering on random defects and weak intra-cluster Coulomb interaction. The effects of the finite edges of electron spectrum of each cluster have to be taken into account to explain the experimental data. The tunneling conductivity behavior and peculiarities in current images of individual clusters can also be qualitatively analyzed in the framework of suggested model.     

Low-temperature STM/STS investigation of nanostructures created by an STM tip on Au(111) surfaces

The structural stability of rapidly solidified (about 10⁴ K/s) Sn–3.7Ag–0.9Zn eutectic solder was explored by high-temperature annealing. For the as-cast solders, the applied fast cooling rate had a significant influence on the microstructure of the solders. The faster the applied cooling rates, the smaller the β-Sn dendrites. After annealing at 473 K for 20 and 50 h, β-Sn dendrites congregated together into bulk ones for minimizing the interfacial energy, and Ag₃Sn intermetallic compounds (IMCs) as well as ternary Ag–Zn–Sn IMCs segregated on the grain boundary of the β-Sn dendrites. It seems that the coarsening of the β-Sn dendrites in the rapidly solidified specimen brought a significant softening during annealing of the explored Sn–Ag–Zn alloy. Finally, the β-Sn dendrites vanished gradually with increase of the annealing period, which leads to a kind of softening.     

STM/STS investigation of carbon nanotubes deposited on Bi2Te3 surface

This paper reports our scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) study of double-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of different diameter deposited on Bi₂Te₃ (narrow gap semiconductor). The approximate diameter of the studied double-walled and multi-walled CNTs was 2 nm and 8 nm, respectively. Crystalline Bi2Te3 was used as a substrate to enhance the contrast between the CNTs and the substrate in the STS measurements performed to examine peculiarities of CNT morphology, such as junctions, ends or structural defects, in terms of their electronic structure.      

STM/STS study of electronic states in highly underdoped Bi2212

Local density of states (LDOS) and the lattice structure of highly underdoped Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ with T_c = 22 K and 30 K were investigated by a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The modulation structure of the Bi–O surface was strongly depressed in the highly underdoped samples. The depression was observed only in the samples subject to the strong reduction annealing process, suggesting that the strong reduction in excess oxygen could destroy the modulation structure. At a time, patch-like inhomogeneity in the gap map sometimes disappeared, indicating that the existence of excess oxygen has an important role in the patch formation. Analysis on the LDOS with various doping levels showed that there was no crossover energy, which separates a pseudogap and a superconducting gap and is proportional to T_c.     

Remote projection and quantum mirages in STS and STM

The phenomena of remote projection and quantum mirages are investigated using standard quantum mechanics. The information inherent in delocalized wave functions in the vicinity of the Fermi level, including contributions from localized states, is available wherever the waves propagate coherently and have a non-vanishing amplitude and therefore can be probed remotely. This can explain the observation of a "quantum mirage" by Manoharan et al.: Nature 403, 512 (2000), i.e., the Kondo antiresonance due to a single adsorbed Co atom on Cu (111) far from the location of the cobalt atom. Similar quantum effects can give rise to "mirage" features in the scanning tunnelling spectrum (STS) both on clean and adsorbate-covered metal surfaces, features which are not resolved in other surface-sensitive spectroscopies (IPES, 2PPE). Within a theory based on a many-particle treatment of the tunnelling phenomena in STS and in scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), the unexpected features in the scanning tunnelling spectra are associated with the spectral weight of transient ion-resonance states generated in the process of electron injection. They transport in a coherent way the information from the tip towards the sample and vice versa over distances of the order of 10 Å or more, generating spectroscopic structures. These "mirage" states are important for the tunnelling current and the imaging properties.     

Monolithic circuits with epitaxial graphene/silicon carbide transistors

A concept is presented that uses epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) for digital circuits. It uses graphene as a metal and the underlying substrate SiC as semiconductor. On the base of transistors with excellent switching behavior, Inverter and NAND operation is demonstrated.

     

The passivation of atomic scale defects present on III–V semiconductor laser facets: an STM/STS investigation

The work presented in this paper is based on the use of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) to study the passivation of atomic scale defect-induced surface states on cleaved III–V (1 1 0) surfaces. This is based on the use of thin Si layers deposited in situ on to the atomically clean surface. The simultaneous STM and STS measurements allowed direct correlation of the structural and electronic properties at the nanoscopic level. The preferential adsorption of Si clusters onto surface defects was achieved using elevated temperature growth on the GaAs(1 1 0) substrate. The STS results clearly indicated local electronic passivation of both step defects and vacancy clusters when the interface is formed at 280 °C. This observation was also confirmed on a macroscopic level using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) under identical conditions. The results are interpreted in terms of the surface bonding of Si with the defect sites. Furthermore, this STM/STS study has been extended to real laser devices where comparable defect features are observed. The implications of defect passivation in nanotechnology are also discussed.     

Band structure and edge states of star-like zigzag graphene nanoribbons

Connecting three zigzag graphene nanoribbons(ZGNRs) together through the sp~3 hybrid bonds forms a star-like ZGNR(S-ZGNR). Its band structure shows that there are four edge states at k = 0.5, in which the three electrons distribute at three outside edge sites, and the last electron is shared equally(50%) by two sites near the central site. The lowest conductance step in the valley is 2, two times higher than that of monolayer ZGNR(M-ZGNR). Furthermore, in one quasithree-dimensional hexagonal lattice built, both of the Dirac points and the zero-energy states appear in the band structure along the z-axis for the fixed zero k-point in the x-y plane. In addition, it is an insulator in the x-y plane due to band gap 4 eV, however, for any k-point in the x-y plane the zero-energy states always exist at k_z = 0.5.     

STM/STS measurements of two-dimensional electronic states trapped around surface defects in magnetic fields

The local density of states (LDOS) near point defects on a surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was studied at very low temperatures in magnetic fields up to 6 T. We observed localized electronic states over a distance of the magnetic length around the defects in differential tunnel conductance images at the valley energies of the Landau levels (LLs) as well as relatively extended states at the peak ones of LLs. These states appear mainly at energies above the Fermi energy corresponding to the electron LL bands. The data suggest that the quantum Hall state is realized in the quasi two dimensional electron system in HOPG. At the peak energy associated with the n=0 (electron) and -1 (hole) LLs characteristic of the graphite structure, a reduced LDOS around the defects is observed. The spatial distribution is almost field independent, which indicates that it represents the potential shape produced by the defects.     

Defects of SiC nanowires studied by STM and STS

For the first time the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) are employed to investigate the morphology and the surface electronic structure of the defective silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNWs). The SiCNWs produced via combustion synthesis route are studied. The STS measurements are performed in the current imaging tunneling spectroscopy mode (CITS) that allows us to determine the correlation between STM topography and the local density of electronic states (LDOS) around the bend of an isolated SiCNW. The measurements reveal fluctuations of LDOS in the vicinity of the defect. The local graphitisation and the inhomogeneous concentration of doping impurities (e.g. nitrogen, oxygen) are considered to explain these fluctuations of metallic-like LDOS in the vicinity of the SiCNW's deformation.     

Anomalous increase of thermopower in epitaxial graphene

Thermoelectric effect in epitaxial graphene formed on the surface of a semiconductor is considered in the context of the Davydov model. The approach based on the Kubo formula for the conductivity and differential thermopower is used. It is shown that near the edges of the semiconductor bandgap, the thermopower of epitaxial graphene increases by more than four times as compared to the thermopower near the Dirac point. A possible explanation of this effect is given.     

STM/STS实验中单电子隧道现象的观测

报道在低温(4.2K)条件下利用STM/STS实验方法对过渡族金属二硫族化合物1T-TaSe₂的观测结果,明确得到了1T-TaSe₂中电荷密度波超晶格以及原子晶格的直观图像,并且给出了有关电荷密度波能隙的隧道谱结果,通过选择高纯度Fc以及不锈钢金属材料作为探针,还得到了单个隧道结构中单电子隧道(SET)效应的实验证据,即“库仑阻塞”(Coulomb blocade)效应,并以此说明STM隧道结中探针表面氧化层对实验结果的影响。     

Electronic structure of epitaxial graphene layers on SiC: effect of the substrate

A strong substrate-graphite bond is found in the first all-carbon layer by density functional theory calculations and x-ray diffraction for few graphene layers grown epitaxially on SiC. This first layer is devoid of graphene electronic properties and acts as a buffer layer. The graphene nature of the film is recovered by the second carbon layer grown on both the (0001) and (0001[over]) 4H-SiC surfaces. We also present evidence of a charge transfer that depends on the interface geometry. Hence the graphene is doped and a gap opens at the Dirac point after three Bernal stacked carbon layers are formed.     

STM/STS observation of ferrocene derivative adduct to C60 on HOPG

The C₆₀ONCFn cycloadduct (Fn=ferrocene) was prepared in the reaction between C₆₀ and ferrocene oxime, the ferrocene derivative was bound to C₆₀ at the 6–6 bond by a heterocyclic oxygen–nitrogen–carbon ring; the compound was stable in air. The compound dissolved in dichloroethane was deposited on HOPG and observed by UHV STM/STS methods. The molecules of C₆₀ONCFn formed several-microns-long straight chains with clearly visible adducted groups pointing to one side of the chain. The STM/STS observations are discussed within the terms of semiempirical quantum chemical molecular modeling.     

STM/STS study on nondispersive checkerboard superstructure in superconducting Bi2212 and La-Bi2201

We performed STM/STS measurements on superconducting Bi2212 and La-Bi2201 in order to study the nondispersive two-dimensional (2D) electronic superstructure, namely the so-called checkerboard. The nondispersive checkerboard clearly appears within the pairing gap in both systems, although the period is different between Bi2212 (∼4a×4a) and La-Bi2201 (∼5a×5a). We point out that the nondispersive checkerboard originates in hole-pairs and/or quasiparticles around the antinodes of the d-wave gap, and interrelates with the spatially inhomogeneous pairing gap.     

Engineering and metrology of epitaxial graphene

Here we review the concepts and technologies, in particular photochemical gating, which contributed to the recent progress in quantum Hall resistance metrology based on large scale epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide.     

Spin-filtered edge states in graphene

Spin–orbit coupling changes graphene, in principle, into a two-dimensional topological insulator, also known as quantum spin Hall insulator. One of the expected consequences is the existence of spin-filtered edge states that carry dissipationless spin currents and undergo no backscattering in the presence of non-magnetic disorder, leading to quantization of conductance. Whereas, due to the small size of spin–orbit coupling in graphene, the experimental observation of these remarkable predictions is unlikely, the theoretical understanding of these spin-filtered states is shedding light on the electronic properties of edge states in other two-dimensional quantum spin Hall insulators. Here we review the effect of a variety of perturbations, like curvature, disorder, edge reconstruction, edge crystallographic orientation, and Coulomb interactions on the electronic properties of these spin filtered states.     

Self-passivating edge reconstructions of graphene

Planar reconstruction patterns at the zigzag and armchair edges of graphene were investigated with density-functional theory. It was unexpectedly found that the zigzag edge is metastable and a planar reconstruction spontaneously takes place at room temperature. The reconstruction changes electronic structure and self-passivates the edge with respect to adsorption of atomic hydrogen from a molecular atmosphere.