Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 43: Poster Session II - MA 141/144 (Surface Spectroscopy on Kondo Systems; Frontiers of Surface Sensitive Electron Microscopy; Methods: Scanning Probe Techniques+Electronic Structure Theory+Other; Time-Resolved Spectroscopy of Surface Dynamics with EUV and XUV Radiation; joined by SYNF posters)

O 43.32: Poster

Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 18:30–19:30, Poster F

Design criteria for scanning tunneling microscopes to reduce the response to external disturbances — •Maximilian Assig¹, Alexandra Ast², Christian R. Ast¹, and Klaus Kern¹ — ¹MPI für Festkörperforschung, Stuttgart, Germany — ²ITM, Universität Stuttgart, Germany

In a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) the tip-sample distance is the crucial aspect of the measurement process as the tunneling current depends on it exponentially. Since it is a priori impossible to distinguish in the tunneling current the actual signal from external disturbances, care must be taken to isolate the measurement setup as effectively as possible from the outside environment. Here we present an approach to reduce the response of the tip-sample distance to external disturbances, which are unwanted in the tunneling current. The idea is to optimize the design of the STM itself, so that the response of the tip and the sample to external disturbances is minimized. A design criterion has been developed based on experimental measurements of the tip-sample transfer function as well as a simple theoretical model.