Abstract
The resolution of individual atoms in scanning-tunneling-microscopy (STM) images of Al(111) is demonstrated. From results of gap-width and energy-dependent measurements the corrugation observed in the STM images cannot reflect the electronic structure of the Al surface near , as usually assumed for such images, but must be due to tip-surface interactions. On the basis of an investigation of the process of tip preparation, an elastic deformation of the frontmost end of the tip mediated by adhesive tip-surface interactions is proposed as the predominant factor for atomic-resolution STM imaging of such metal surfaces.
- Received 26 July 1988
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.62.59
©1989 American Physical Society