ChE 592

SCANNING TUNELING
MICROSCOPE (STM)
Merve Ayvaz
Boazii University
4.05.2011

STM
STM can produce atomic resolution images of metallic

or semiconductor surfaces by making electrons

tunnel between a metallic probe (the tip) and
the surface undergoing the scan (the sample).
The tip is attached to piezoelectric crystals which,
with the help of electronic feedback control, can
position the tip precisely relative to the sample
beneath it.
During the scan, the tip is ordinarily kept between 5
and 15A away from the sample.

Si (111) image,
bond lenght, bond
angle
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Leiden University, Institute

INVENTION OF STM
The invention of the topografiner by Young et al. in

1972.
Electron tunneling experiments reported by Teague
in 1978.
Topografiner was a device that used a piezoelectric
driver to scan a surface whose probe rested
approximately 100nm above the sample surface.
Using a field emission current induced by applying
a positive voltage of a few kV to the sample, the
topografiner could produce a surface image with a
lateral resolution of 400nm.
Teagues experiments demonstrated vacuum
tunneling between two gold electrodes. Teagues
apparatus allowed fine adjustment of the gap
width, but did not have a raster scan mechanism.
Leiden University, Institute

INVENTION OF STM
Binnig and Rohrer combined these technologies

to create the STM.

Leiden University, Institute

How STM works

Basis phenomenon is quantum mechanical

tunneling.
A very small current will flow between a sharp
metal probe tip and the surface of an
electrically conductive material.
The tip is positioned just a few nanometers
Piezo-scanner
away from the sample surface,(1)
i.e.,
no contact
(2)sample.
Metallic tip
is made between the tip and the
(3) (Semi)Conducting
Sample
(4) Image display
(5) Control electronics
(Feed-back circuit)
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Max Planck Institute for Solid State

Quantum Mechanical Tunneling

Metals are not touching, no current will flow

through the battery.

Electrons can move very easily and quickly from
one end of the metal to the other.
The electrons are free to move around the metal
but cannot leave it.
University of Wisconsin

Quantum Mechanical Tunneling

When the metals are brought together, but are not

quite touching, a small electric current can be

measured.
The current gets larger the closer the metals are
brought together, until it reaches its maximum
value when the metals are touching.
The metals must be only 10 angstroms apart to
produce detectable tunneling current.

University of Wisconsin

Quantum Mechanical Tunneling

An electron's energy can be split into two

contributions: kinetic energy and potential energy.

Kinetic energy (the energy of motion) is large for
electrons moving fast and small for electrons
moving slowly.
Potential energy is the energy available for an
electron to convert to kinetic energy if it moves
along an electric field.
Large potential energy between the two metals
tends to keep electrons inside their respective
metal.

University of Wisconsin

Quantum Mechanical Tunneling

Electrons have both a particle and a wave

nature.
So we should picture the electron as a cloud.
When the cloud collides with the barrier, part of
the cloud may penetrate it.

University of Wisconsin

Quantum Mechanical Tunneling

One of the metals is the sample being imaged

(sample) and the other metal is the probe (tip).

All of the tunneling electrons will pass through
atom at the end.
This feature leads to the atomic resolution
capabilities of the microscope.

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University of Wisconsin

Bardeens Tunneling Theory

Bardeens tunneling theory was published in

1961 and applied to the scanning tunneling

microscope in 1983 by Tersoff and Hamann.
The tip and sample are sufficiently far apart
The bias (potential difference between the tip
and the sample) is low enough.

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Bardeens Tunneling Theory

Assumption 1:
The electron-electron
interaction can be
ignored.

The space containing the STM is divided into two

regions: the sample region, and the tip region.
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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Bardeens Tunneling Theory

Considering tip and sample in isolation rather than

as parts of the STM, in order to estimate the

current through the tip-sample junction.

Vtip(r) = 0 for r in the sample region

Vsam(r) = 0 for r in the tip region

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Bardeens Tunneling Theory

Consider an electron initially in the sample

state with energy E.

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Total Scattering Rates, Fermis Golden Rule

Fermis Golden Rule is only valid at times t which

are large enough that the density of (tip) states per

unit energy is nearly constant on the energy scale
h/t.

Fermis Golden Rule is to approximate the sum in

equation by an integral with respect to energy.

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Total Scattering Rates, Fermis Golden Rule

The rate at which electrons in the sample state are

transferred into tip states of comparable energy if all
of those states were vacant and available to receive
electrons.

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C. J., Chen. Introduction to Scanning

Total Scattering Rates, Fermi-Diaric Eql.

Paulis Exclusion Principle declares that at most one

electron may occupy a given tip state, so the density of

states tip(E) needs to be multiplied by the fraction of
unoccupied tip states with energies near E.

The tip are constantly those of Fermi-Dirac equilibrium at

temperature and chemical potential t, the rate of

scattering from into a tip state becomes.

Assuming that the occupation probabilities of tip states

are always given by Ft, the rate at which an electron in

some tip state transports itself into the sample state is
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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Electronic Current
It is e times the sum over sample states n of

the difference between

(i) the probability that the sample state
vacant times the rate of electron transfer
from some tip state into n
(ii) the probability that the sample state
is occupied times the rate of electron
transfer from n into the tip.

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

is

Matrix Element
In one dimension, M reduces to a particularly

simple form

With the evaluation at a, the point of

separation between the two subsystems or

any point contained within the overlap region.

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

The Tersoff-Hamann Formula

Tersoff and Hamann deduced a useful rule-of-thumb:

the tunneling current is proportional to the part of

the electronic density at the center of the tip due to
the sample wavefunctions at the quasi-Fermi energy
.

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Image Interpretation with TersoffHamann Theory

The tip (arbitrary shape) is assumed to have a

local spherical radius of curvature R. The

nearest tip-sample distance is d.
Predominant tip state in tunneling is s-orbital

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Instrumentation
STM include;
a sharp probing tip
a piezoelectric
scanning unit
a coarse positioning
unit
a vibration isolation
stage
a set of electronics

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Tip
Preparation

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Max Planck Institute for Solid State

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Max Planck Institute for Solid State

Tip Characterization

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Piezoelectric Scanning
The piezoelectric effect was discovered by Pierre

Curie and Jacques Curie (1880), about 100 years

before the invention of the STM
By applying a weight to generate vertical tension,
an electrical charge was detected by the
Piezoelectric properties are
electrometer.
related to
the alignment of atoms in
the crystal
structure and to the crystal
polarization
(electric dipole is
necessary).

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ferromagnetic
materials,
Barium titanate
(BaTiO3), Lead
C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Piezoelectric Scanning
Inverse piezoelectric effect: By applying a voltage on

the quartz plate, a deformation should be observed .

Tube Scanner:
A tube made of PZT (Lead
zirconate titanate -PbZrTiO3)
metallized on the outer and
inner
surfaces, is poled in the radial
direction.
The inner
outside
metal
coating
is
The
metal
coating
is connected
to the z
sectioned
into
four
quadrantsquadrants
.
voltage,
and
two
neighboring
are
connected to the varying x, y voltages, respectively.
The remaining two quadrants are connected to a
certain dc voltage to improve linearity.
The tip is attached to the center of one of the dc
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quadrants.
C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Piezoelectric Scanning
Improved linearity
Symmetric x and y voltages
The tip at the center of the tube
In this case,+ Vx and Vx voltages
are applied on
the opposite x quadrants
Whereas a + Vy, and - Vy, voltages
are applied on the opposite y
quadrants.

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

Piezoelectric Scanning
The inner metal coating and the two x

quadrants are grounded.

Immediately after the onset of y voltages, a
strain in the z direction, S3 = d31 V/h, is
generated .
It in turn creates a stress = YS 3 in the z
direction, where Y is Young's modulus.
The torque of this pair of forces causes the
tube to bend .

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C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning

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Max Planck Institute for Solid State

Mode of STM
Constant-current mode
An x-y scan reveals a topographic image of the
surface
operation under constant current
measured quantity: voltage Uz of piezoelectric
transducer
image: intensity -height z above the surface

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Max Planck Institute for Solid State

Research, Stuttgart

Mode of STM
Constant-height mode
Tip height is kept constant and tunneling current is
monitored.
high scanning speed / smooth surfaces
measured quantity: tunneling current I(x,y) vs Z
Image: intensity- tunneling current
Allows study of dynamic processes
Risk of tip crash

32

Max Planck Institute for Solid State

Topography
Constant curre
Record z(x,y)
Charge density
image

Spectroscopy
Constant z-pos
of tip
Record I(x,y)
Local electroni
structure
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Max Planck Institute for Solid State

Research, Stuttgart

Tip State
Calculations and experiments showed that

there is often a dz2like state near the fermi

edge present at the apex atom which also
predominantly contributes to the tunneling
current.
It is understood that this state (and also the
Tungsten tips are
pzlike state) is advantageous for a sharp tip.
characterized by clusters
with 5dz2 states close to
the Fermi energy. This
leads to an enhanced
resolution.

The state of the tip atom

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Max Planck
is dependent
on theInstitute for Solid State
Research, Stuttgart

Role of p- and d-like tip orbital: reciprocity principle

The image taken with dz2 tip state on a free

electron metal surface is equivalent to an

image taken with a point tip on a sample
surface with dz2 state on top layer atom
(strong corrugation).

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Max Planck Institute for Solid State

Research, Stuttgart

References
Leiden University, Institute of Physics
C. J. Chen., Introduction to Scanning Tunneling

Microscopy, Oxford University Press, 2008

Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research

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Thank you
for your listening

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