The mechanism of light emission from a scanning tunnelling microscope operating in air.

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.

Temporal coherence of propagating surface plasmons.

The temporal coherence of propagating surface plasmons is investigated using a local, broadband plasmon source consisting of a scanning tunneling microscope. A variant of Young's experiment is performed using a sample consisting of a 200-nm-thick gold film perforated by two 1-μm-diameter holes (separated by 4 or 6 μm). The resulting interference fringes are studied as a function of hole separation and source bandwidth.

Plasmon scattering from holes: from single hole scattering to Young's experiment.

In this paper, the scattering of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into photons at holes is investigated. A local, electrically excited source of SPPs using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) produces an outgoing circular plasmon wave on a thick (200 nm) gold film on glass containing holes of 250, 500 and 1000 nm diameter. Fourier plane images of the photons from hole-scattered plasmons show that the larger the hole diameter, the more directional the scattered radiation.

An electrically excited nanoscale light source with active angular control of the emitted light.

We report on the angular distribution, polarization, and spectrum of the light emitted from an electrically controlled nanoscale light source. This nanosource of light arises from the local, low-energy, electrical excitation of localized surface plasmons (LSP) on individual gold nanoparticles using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The gold nanoparticles (NP) are chemically synthesized truncated bitetrahedrons.

Edge scattering of surface plasmons excited by scanning tunneling microscopy.

The scattering of electrically excited surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into photons at the edges of gold metal stripes is investigated. The SPPs are locally generated by the inelastic tunneling current of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The majority of the collected light arising from the scattering of SPPs at the stripe edges is emitted in the forward direction and is collected at large angle (close to the air-glass critical angle, θ(c)).

STM imaging, spectroscopy and manipulation of a self-assembled PTCDI monolayer on epitaxial graphene.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS), and manipulation studies were performed on an ordered self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of N,N'-bis(1-hexylheptyl)perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) molecules on epitaxial graphene on hexagonal silicon carbide - SiC(0001). Four novel aspects of the molecular SAM on graphene are presented. Molecules adsorb in both armchair and zig-zag configurations, giving rise to six orientations of the molecular layer with respect to the underlying substrate.

The paradox of an insulating contact between a chemisorbed molecule and a wide band gap semiconductor surface.

Controlling the intrinsic optical and electronic properties of a single molecule adsorbed on a surface requires electronic decoupling of some molecular orbitals from the surface states. Scanning tunneling microscopy experiments and density functional theory calculations are used to study a perylene molecule derivative (DHH-PTCDI), adsorbed on the clean 3 × 3 reconstructed wide band gap silicon carbide surface (SiC(0001)-3 × 3). We find that the LUMO of the adsorbed molecule is invisible in I(V) spectra due to the absence of any surface or bulk states and that the HOMO has a very low saturation current in I(z) spectra.

Excitation of propagating surface plasmons with a scanning tunnelling microscope.

Inelastic electron tunnelling excitation of propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on a thin gold film is demonstrated. This is done by combining a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) with an inverted optical microscope. Analysis of the leakage radiation in both the image and Fourier planes unambiguously shows that the majority (up to 99.

Quantum interference channeling at graphene edges.

Electron scattering at graphene edges is expected to make a crucial contribution to the electron transport in graphene nanodevices by producing quantum interferences. Atomic-scale scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) topographies of different edge structures of monolayer graphene show that the localization of the electronic density of states along the C-C bonds, a property unique to monolayer graphene, results in quantum interference patterns along the graphene carbon bond network, whose shapes depend only on the edge structure and not on the electron energy.

Manipulation of cadmium selenide nanorods with an atomic force microscope.

We have used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to manipulate and study ligand-capped cadmium selenide nanorods deposited on highly oriented pyrolitic graphite (HOPG). The AFM tip was used to manipulate (i.e.

SiC(0001) 3 x 3 heterochirality revealed by single-molecule STM imaging.

We report a description of the SiC(0001) 3 x 3 silicon carbide reconstruction based on single-molecule scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations and density functional theory calculations. We show that the SiC(0001) 3 x 3 reconstruction can be described as contiguous domains of right and left chirality distributed at the nanoscale, which breaks the to date supposed translational invariance of the surface. While this surface heterochirality remains invisible in STM topographies of clean surfaces, individual metal-free phthalocyanine molecules chemisorbed on the surface act as molecular lenses to reveal the surface chirality in the STM topographies.

Theoretical simulations of the tip-induced configuration changes of the 4,4(')-diacetyl-p-terphenyl molecule chemisorbed on Si(001).

We have investigated from a theoretical point of view modifications of the 4,4(')-diacetyl-p-terphenyl molecule chemisorbed on Si(001) induced by the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). In previous experiments, these modifications were observed to occur preferentially at the end of the molecule after a +4.0 V voltage pulse and at the center after a +4.

Active drift compensation applied to nanorod manipulation with an atomic force microscope.

We have developed a simple algorithm to overcome the problem of thermal drift in an atomic force microscope (AFM) operating under ambient conditions. Using our method, we demonstrate that the AFM tip remains above a 5-nm-high and 50-nm-long CdSe nanorod for more than 90 min despite the thermal drift present (6 nm/min). We have applied our drift compensation technique to the AFM manipulation of CdSe colloidal nanorods lying horizontally on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface.

Difficulty for oxygen to incorporate into the silicon network during initial O2 oxidation of Si(100)-(2x1).

First principles calculations and scanning tunneling microscopy studies of the oxidation of Si(100)-(2x1) surfaces by molecular oxygen reveal that the surface silanone (O)(Si=O) species is remarkably stable, constituting the key intermediate for initial oxidation. The propensity for oxygen to remain within the top surface layer as opposed to incorporating within Si-Si backbonds is surprisingly high. This resistance to incorporation into a cubic lattice even at higher coverages could be a factor to facilitate surface amorphization in subsequent steps.

[Military telemedicine: a network of networks].

Military telemedicine is a form of collaborative medicine based on the use of communication and information networks. It is more a network of networks than of independent systems. It comprises electronic medical files, epidemiological networks, and surgical and medical databases.

Picometer-scale electronic control of molecular dynamics inside a single molecule.

Tunneling electrons from a low-temperature (5 kelvin) scanning tunneling microscope were used to control, through resonant electronic excitation, the molecular dynamics of an individual biphenyl molecule adsorbed on a silicon(100) surface. Different reversible molecular movements were selectively activated by tuning the electron energy and by selecting precise locations for the excitation inside the molecule. Both the spatial selectivity and energy dependence of the electronic control are supported by spectroscopic measurements with the scanning tunneling microscope.

Selective internal manipulation of a single molecule by scanning tunneling microscopy.

We have studied the adsorption of the polyaromatic molecule 1,4"-paratriphenyldimethylacetone, which we have nicknamed Trima. The originality of this linear molecule is that it was designed and synthesized to have two functionalities. First, chemisorb itself to the surface by its two ends rather like a bridge.

Atomic-scale STM experiments on semiconductor surfaces: towards molecular nanomachines.

The electronic or quantum control of individual molecules with the scanning tunnelling microscope offers exciting perspectives on operating molecular nanomachines. This implies the use of semiconductor surfaces rather than metallic surfaces which would rapidly quench the electronic excitations. We review recent results illustrating the state of the art and the main problems which need to be solved: the choice, design and properties of functionalized organic molecules on semiconductor surfaces; the control of the inelastic electronic channels through a single molecule; and the search for well-controlled atomic-scale wide-band-gap semiconductor surfaces.

Electronic structure of partially hydrogenated Si(100)-( 2 x 1) surfaces prepared by thermal and nonthermal desorption.

The electronic structure of partially hydrogenated Si(100)- (2 x 1) surfaces, prepared by controlled thermal annealing and nonthermal photon stimulated desorption of fully hydrogenated Si(100) surfaces, has been investigated by using valence band photoemission. Thermal and nonthermal desorption are found to produce very specific electronic surface structures. This led us to the discovery of two specific surface states having binding energies of 1.

Selective photon-stimulated desorption of hydrogen from GaAs surfaces.

Photon-stimulated desorption of H(+) from hydrogenated GaAs (110) and (100) surfaces was studied as a function of photon energy. Distinct peaks, observed around As 3d core-level binding energy for desorption from the GaAs (100) surface and in the As 3d and Ga 3p region for desorption from the GaAs (110) surface, show a striking similarity with the fine structure (spin-orbit splitting) measured in the photoemission from As 3d and Ga 3p levels. These results provide clear evidence for direct desorption processes and represent a basis for selective modification of hydrogenated GaAs surfaces.