Chemical reactions of water molecules on Ru(0 0 0 1) induced by selective excitation of vibrational modes

Tunneling electrons in a scanning tunneling microscope were used to excite specific vibrational quantum states of adsorbed water and hydroxyl molecules on a Ru(0 0 0 1) surface. The excited molecules relaxed by transfer of energy to lower energy modes, resulting in diffusion, dissociation, desorption, and surface-tip transfer processes. Diffusion of H₂O molecules could be induced by excitation of the O-H stretch vibration mode at 445 meV. Isolated molecules required excitation of one single quantum while molecules bonded to a C atom required at least two quanta. Dissociation of single H₂O molecules into H and OH required electron energies of 1 eV or higher while dissociation of OH required at least 2 eV electrons. In contrast, water molecules forming part of a cluster could be dissociated with electron energies of 0.5 eV.     

Scanning Tunneling Electron Transport into a Kondo Lattice

We theoretically present the results for a scanning tunneling transport between a metallic tip and a Kondo lattice.We calculate the density of states(DOS)and the tunneling current and differential conductance(DC)under different conduction-fermion band hybridization and temperature in the Kondo lattice.It is found that the hybridization strength and temperature give asymmetric coherent peaks in the DOS separated by the Fermi energy.The corresponding current and DC intensity depend on the temperature and quantum interference effect among the c-electron and f-electron states in the Kondo lattice.     

Hawking radiation and black hole spectroscopy in Hořava–Lifshitz gravity

Hawking radiation from the black hole in Ho?ava–Lifshitz gravity is discussed by a reformulation of the tunneling method given in Banerjee and Majhi (2009) [17]. Using a density matrix technique the radiation spectrum is derived which is identical to that of a perfect black body. The temperature obtained here is proportional to the surface gravity of the black hole as occurs in usual Einstein gravity. The entropy is also derived by using the first law of black hole thermodynamics. Finally, the spectrum of entropy/area is obtained. The latter result is also discussed from the viewpoint of quasi-normal modes. Both methods lead to an equispaced entropy spectrum, although the value of the spacing is not the same. On the other hand, since the entropy is not proportional to the horizon area of the black hole, the area spectrum is not equidistant, a finding which also holds for the Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet theory.     

Successive Deprotonation Steering the Structural Evolution of Supramolecular Assemblies on Ag(111)

In this study, we demonstrate the structural evolution of a two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular assembly system, which is steered by the thermally activated deprotonation of the primary organic building blocks on a Ag(111) surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy revealed that a variety of structures, featuring distinct structural, chiral, and intermolecular bonding characters, emerged with the gradual thermal treatments. According to our structural analysis, in combination with density function theory calculations, the structural evolution can be attributed to the successive deprotonation of the organic building blocks due to the inductive effect. Our finding offers a facile strategy towards controlling the supramolecular assembly pathways and provides a comprehensive understanding of the 2D crystal engineering on surfaces.     

Stabilization of Large Adsorbates by Rotational Entropy: A Time‐Resolved Variable‐Temperature STM Study

Investigating the dynamics in an adlayer of the oligopyridine derivative 2‐phenyl‐4,6‐bis(6‐(pyridine‐2‐yl)‐4‐(pyridine‐4‐yl)pyridine‐2‐yl)pyrimidine (2,4′‐BTP) on Ag(111) by fast scanning tunneling microscopy (video‐STM), we found that rotating 2,4′‐BTP adsorbates coexist in a two‐dimensional (2D) liquid phase (β‐phase) in a dynamic equilibrium with static adsorbate molecules. Furthermore, exchange between an ordered phase (α‐phase) and β‐phase leads to fluctuations of the domain boundary on a time scale of seconds. Quantitative evaluation of the temperature‐dependent equilibrium between rotating and static adsorbates, evaluated from a large number of STM images, gains insight into energetic and entropic stabilization and underlines that the rotating adsorbate molecules are stabilized by an entropy contribution, which is compatible with that derived by using statistical mechanics. The general validity of the concept of entropic stabilization of rotating admolecules, favoring rotation already at room temperature, is tested for other typical small, mid‐size and large adsorbates.     

Imaging in the modern age

This report of the 2011 James L. Waters Symposium at Pittcon 2011 highlights the powerful imaging technologies of electron microscopy (EM) and ion microscopy (IM). The four speakers each provided a window into a specific subset of the field:

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David Bell described the history, development, application, and commercialization of transmission EM (TEM) and scanning TEM (STEM);

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David Martin presented the challenges and methodologies of imaging ordered polymers and biomaterials with TEM;

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Joseph Michael explained the history of the commercialization of scanning EM (SEM) and its modern applications; and,

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David Joy, who submitted his talk in absentia, provided a history of EM and a summary of the advantages of IM versus EM.

     

Monolayer Rectifiers

Molecular-scale electronics has now been enriched by the discovery that molecules, studied singly by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, or a large array of those molecules, studied in parallel as a Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer between metal electrodes, exhibit rectification, i.e., an asymmetric current as a function of applied voltage.This asymmetry can come, first, from work function differences between two dissimilar metals or the metal-molecule interfaces (Schottky barriers), second from an asymmetric placement of the chromophore between the two metal electrodes, and third, from an asymmetry of the molecular orbitals of the molecule.This third, electronic origin of rectification, first proposed by Aviram and Ratner in 1974, and confirmed in the work reported here, gives us hope that, not too many years from now, molecules can form the basis of ultra-small yet ultra-fast electronic devices and integrated circuits.     

Quantum dot resonant tunneling FET on graphene

At this paper a field effect transistor based on graphene nanoribbon (GNR) is modeled. Like in most GNR-FETs the GNR is chosen to be semiconductor with a gap, through which the current passes at on state of the device. The regions at the two ends of GNR are highly n-type doped and play the role of metallic reservoirs so called source and drain contacts. Two dielectric layers are placed on top and bottom of the GNR and a metallic gate is located on its top above the channel region. At this paper it is assumed that the gate length is less than the channel length so that the two ends of the channel region are un-gated. As a result of this geometry, the two un-gated regions of channel act as quantum barriers between channel and the contacts. By applying gate voltage, discrete energy levels are generated in channel and resonant tunneling transport occurs via these levels. By solving the NEGF and 3D Poisson equations self consistently, we have obtained electron density, potential profile and current. The current variations with the gate voltage give rise to negative transconductance.     

Spin-polarized current and tunnel magnetoresistance in heterogeneous single-barrier magnetic tunnel junctions

Current in heterogeneous tunnel junctions is studied in the framework of the parabolic conduction-band model. The developed model of the electron tunneling takes explicitly into account the difference of effective masses between ferromagnetic and insulating layers and between conduction subbands. Calculations for Fe/MgO/Fe-like structures have shown the essential impact of effective mass differences in regions (constituents) of the structure on the tunnel magnetoresistance of the junction.     

扫描探针显微技术中脱氧核糖核酸样品的制备

评述了近年来原子力显微镜和扫描隧道显微镜应用于脱氧核糖核酸研究领域的样品制备过程.主要内容涉及基底的选择与处理、样品的固定与展开方法、优缺点以及改进过程.