Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 80: Scanning Probe Microscopy: Light Matter Interaction at Atomic Scales II

O 80.1: Talk

Thursday, March 21, 2024, 10:30–10:45, MA 041

All-optical subcycle microscopy with atomic resolution — •Valentin Bergbauer, Thomas Siday, Johannes Hayes, Felix Schiegl, Fabian Sandner, Peter Menden, Martin Zizlsperger, Svenja Nerreter, Sonja Lingl, Jascha Repp, Jan Wilhelm, Markus A. Huber, Yaroslav A. Gerasimenko, and Rupert Huber — Department of Physics and Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN), University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany

Near-field microscopy has prompted a revolution in nano-videography of quantum systems on subcycle timescales and with a spatial resolution down to ∼10 nm. Yet, the nanoscale geometry of the tip apex has prevented access to atomic resolution. We present a fundamentally new approach which brings all-optical microscopy to the atomic scale while retaining subcycle temporal resolution for the first time, by exploiting extreme nonlinearities within tip-confined evanescent light fields. We demonstrate the capabilities of this Near-field Optical Tunnelling Emission (NOTE) microscope by imaging nanometre-sized packing defects on the surface of gold, alongside tracing the subcycle quantum flow of electrons between the scanning tip and a semiconducting van der Waals trilayer in real-time. NOTE microscopy is not only compatible with insulating samples, where no rectified currents can flow but also enables us to combine all-optical subcycle spectroscopy with atomic resolution. In doing so, NOTE provides direct access to atomic scale quantum light-matter interaction and dynamics on their natural length and timescales.

Keywords: Near-field microscopy; Atomic resolution; Subcycle temporal resolution; Scanning probe microscopy; Subcycle spectroscopy