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Atomic-Resolution Imaging of Close-Packed Metal Surfaces by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

1989; American Physical Society; Volume: 62; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1103/physrevlett.62.59

1092-0145

J. Wintterlin, J. Wiechers, Harald Brune, T. Gritsch, Hanns von Hofer, R. Jürgen Behm,

Advanced Materials Characterization Techniques

The resolution of individual atoms in scanning-tunneling-microscopy (STM) images of Al(111) is demonstrated. From results of gap-width and energy-dependent measurements the corrugation observed in the STM images cannot reflect the electronic structure of the Al surface near ${E}_{F}$, as usually assumed for such images, but must be due to tip-surface interactions. On the basis of an investigation of the process of tip preparation, an elastic deformation of the frontmost end of the tip mediated by adhesive tip-surface interactions is proposed as the predominant factor for atomic-resolution STM imaging of such metal surfaces.