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Title: A 30 mK, 13.5 T scanning tunneling microscope with two independent tips

Abstract

We describe the design, construction, and performance of an ultra-low temperature, high-field scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with two independent tips. The STM is mounted on a dilution refrigerator and operates at a base temperature of 30 mK with magnetic fields of up to 13.5 T. We focus on the design of the two-tip STM head, as well as the sample transfer mechanism, which allows in situ transfer from an ultra high vacuum preparation chamber while the STM is at 1.5 K. Other design details such as the vibration isolation and rf-filtered wiring are also described. Their effectiveness is demonstrated via spectral current noise characteristics and the root mean square roughness of atomic resolution images. The high-field capability is shown by the magnetic field dependence of the superconducting gap of Cu{sub x}Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}. Finally, we present images and spectroscopy taken with superconducting Nb tips with the refrigerator at 35 mK that indicate that the effective temperature of our tips/sample is approximately 184 mK, corresponding to an energy resolution of 16 μeV.

Authors:
 [1]; ; ;  [1]; ; ;  [2]
  1. Laboratory for Physical Sciences, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
  2. Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22254916
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Review of Scientific Instruments
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 85; Journal Issue: 4; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; CONSTRUCTION; DESIGN; DILUTION; ENERGY RESOLUTION; IMAGES; MAGNETIC FIELDS; REFRIGERATORS; ROUGHNESS; SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPY; SPECTROSCOPY

Citation Formats

Roychowdhury, Anita, Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740, Gubrud, M. A., Dana, R., Dreyer, M., Anderson, J. R., Lobb, C. J., and Wellstood, F. C. A 30 mK, 13.5 T scanning tunneling microscope with two independent tips. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4871056.
Roychowdhury, Anita, Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740, Gubrud, M. A., Dana, R., Dreyer, M., Anderson, J. R., Lobb, C. J., & Wellstood, F. C. A 30 mK, 13.5 T scanning tunneling microscope with two independent tips. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4871056
Roychowdhury, Anita, Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740, Gubrud, M. A., Dana, R., Dreyer, M., Anderson, J. R., Lobb, C. J., and Wellstood, F. C. 2014. "A 30 mK, 13.5 T scanning tunneling microscope with two independent tips". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4871056.
@article{osti_22254916,
title = {A 30 mK, 13.5 T scanning tunneling microscope with two independent tips},
author = {Roychowdhury, Anita and Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740 and Gubrud, M. A. and Dana, R. and Dreyer, M. and Anderson, J. R. and Lobb, C. J. and Wellstood, F. C.},
abstractNote = {We describe the design, construction, and performance of an ultra-low temperature, high-field scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with two independent tips. The STM is mounted on a dilution refrigerator and operates at a base temperature of 30 mK with magnetic fields of up to 13.5 T. We focus on the design of the two-tip STM head, as well as the sample transfer mechanism, which allows in situ transfer from an ultra high vacuum preparation chamber while the STM is at 1.5 K. Other design details such as the vibration isolation and rf-filtered wiring are also described. Their effectiveness is demonstrated via spectral current noise characteristics and the root mean square roughness of atomic resolution images. The high-field capability is shown by the magnetic field dependence of the superconducting gap of Cu{sub x}Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}. Finally, we present images and spectroscopy taken with superconducting Nb tips with the refrigerator at 35 mK that indicate that the effective temperature of our tips/sample is approximately 184 mK, corresponding to an energy resolution of 16 μeV.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4871056},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22254916}, journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
issn = {0034-6748},
number = 4,
volume = 85,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Tue Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}