Engineering topics

Zahl, P

Publications and source records attributed to Zahl, P.

3 records

DOE OSTI2012

Manipulation of Electronic Transport in the Bi(111) Surface State

We demonstrate the controlled manipulation of the 2D-electronic transport in the surface state of Bi(111) through the deposition of small amounts of Bi to generate adatoms and 2D islands as additional scatterers. The corresponding increase in resistance is recorded in situ and in real time. Model calculations based on mean-field nucleation theory reveal a constant scattering efficiency of adatoms and of small 2D Bi islands, independent of their size. This finding is supported by a detailed scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy study at 5 K which shows a highly anisotropic scattering pattern surrounding each surface protrusion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2011

Two-Color Ultrafast Photoexcited Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

We report on two-color two-photon photoexcitation of a metal surface driven by ultrafast laser pulses and detected with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip as a proximate anode. Results are presented for two cases: (i) where the tip is retracted from the surface far enough to prohibit tunneling, and (ii) where the tip is within tunneling range of the surface. A delay-modulation technique is implemented to isolate the two-color photoemission from concurrent one-color two-photon photoemission and provide subpicosecond time-resolved detection. When applied with the tip in tunneling range, this approach effectively isolates the two-photon photoexcited current signal from the conventional tunneling current and enables subpicosecond time-resolved detection of the photoexcited surface electrons. The advantage of the two-color approach is highlighted by comparison with the one-color case where optical interference causes thermal modulation of the STM tip length, resulting in tunneling current modulations that are orders of magnitude larger than the current due to photoexcitation of surface electrons. By completely eliminating this interference, and thereby avoiding thermal modulation of the STM tip length, the two-color approach represents an important step toward the ultimate goal of simultaneous subnanometer and subpicosecond measurements of surface electron dynamics by ultrafast-laser-excited STM.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2010

Open Source Scanning Probe Microscopy Control Software package GXSM

GXSM is a full featured and modern scanning probe microscopy (SPM) software. It can be used for powerful multidimensional image/data processing, analysis, and visualization. Connected to an instrument, it is operating many different flavors of SPM, e.g., scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy or, in general, two-dimensional multichannel data acquisition instruments. The GXSM core can handle different data types, e.g., integer and floating point numbers. An easily extendable plug-in architecture provides many image analysis and manipulation functions. A digital signal processor subsystem runs the feedback loop, generates the scanning signals, and acquires the data during SPM measurements. The programmable GXSM vector probe engine performs virtually any thinkable spectroscopy and manipulation task, such as scanning tunneling spectroscopy or tip formation. The GXSM software is released under the GNU general public license and can be obtained via the internet.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗