skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Nanoscale chemical imaging using synchrotron x-ray enhanced scanning tunneling microscopy

Journal Article · · AIP Conference Proceedings
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3463236· OSTI ID:21431070
;  [1]
  1. Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

The combination of synchrotron radiation with scanning tunneling microscopy provides a promising new concept for chemical imaging of nanoscale structures. It employs detection of local x-ray absorption, which directly yields chemical, electronic, and magnetic sensitivity. The study of the tip current in the far field (800 nm tip/sample separation) shows that insulator-coated tips have to be considered in order to reduce the background from stray photoelectron. A picture of the different channels contributing to the x-ray enhanced STM process is proposed. If during electron tunneling the sample is illuminated with monochromatic x-rays, characteristic absorption will arise, and core electrons are excited, which might modulate the conventional tunnel current and facilitate chemical imaging at the nanoscale.

OSTI ID:
21431070
Journal Information:
AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1234, Issue 1; Conference: SRI 2009: 10. international conference on radiation instrumentation, Melbourne (Australia), 27 Sep - 2 Oct 2009; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3463236; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0094-243X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English