The mechanism of light emission from a scanning tunnelling microscope operating in air
| Autor: | Le Moal, Eric, Rogez, Benoît, Cao, Shuiyan, Dujardin, Gérald, Comtet, Geneviève, Mayne, A., Boer-Duchemin, E. |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay (ISMO), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
Photon Microscope Orders of magnitude (temperature) STM operation in air Bioengineering 02 engineering and technology 01 natural sciences law.invention inelastic electron tunnelling law 0103 physical sciences General Materials Science Electrical and Electronic Engineering 010306 general physics Quantum tunnelling [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-OPTICS]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Optics [physics.optics] business.industry Mechanical Engineering scanning tunnelling microscopy General Chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Surface plasmon polariton Electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope Mechanics of Materials light emission [PHYS.COND.CM-MS]Physics [physics]/Condensed Matter [cond-mat]/Materials Science [cond-mat.mtrl-sci] [SPI.OPTI]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Optics / Photonic Optoelectronics Light emission Current (fluid) 0210 nano-technology business |
| Zdroj: | Nanotechnology Nanotechnology, Institute of Physics, 2016, 27 (46), pp.465201. ⟨10.1088/0957-4484/27/46/465201⟩ |
| ISSN: | 1361-6528 0957-4484 |
| DOI: | 10.1088/0957-4484/27/46/465201 |
| Popis: | International audience; The scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) may be used as a low-energy, electrical nanosource of surface plasmon polaritons and light. In this article, we demonstrate that the optimum mode of operation of the STM for maximum photon emission is completely different in air than in vacuum. To this end, we investigate the emission of photons, the variation in the relative tip-sample distance and the measured current as a function of time for an STM operating in air. Contrary to the case of an STM operating in vacuum, the measured current between the tip and sample for an STM in air is very unstable (rapidly fluctuating in time) when the applied voltage between the tip and sample is in the ∼1.5–3 V range (i.e., in the energy range of visible photons). The photon emission occurs in short (50 μs) bursts when the STM tip is closest to the sample. The current instabilities are shown to be a key ingredient for producing intense light emission from an STM operating in air (photon emission rate several orders of magnitude higher than for stable current). These results are explained in terms of the interplay between the tunnel current and the electrochemical current in the ubiquitous thin water layer that exists when working in air. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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