Abstract
We present atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images from Ti(110) surfaces. After annealing nearly perfect stoichiometric surfaces to elevated temperatures in ultrahigh vacuum, randomly distributed oxygen vacancies are observed. The apparent shape of these defects provides strong evidence that the STM is imaging undercoordinated Ti atoms, as do first-principles pseudopotential calculations of the electronic states accessible to tunneling. We thus resolve a controversy as to whether STM imaging on this surface is dominated by geometric-structure or electronic effects.
- Received 14 March 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.1322
©1996 American Physical Society
Collections
This article appears in the following collection:
Scanning Probe Microscopy: From Sublime to Ubiquitous
This collection marks the 35th anniversary of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and the 30th anniversary of atomic force microscopy (AFM). These papers, all published in the Physical Review journals, highlight the positive impact that STM and AFM have had, and continue to have, on physical science research. The papers included in the collection have been made free to read.
