Electronic Effects in Length Distribution of Atom Chains

Published

April 17, 2006

Author(s)

Jason Crain, Mark D. Stiles, Joseph A. Stroscio, Daniel T. Pierce

Abstract

Gold deposited on Si(553) leads to self assembly of atomic chains, which are broken into finite segments by atomic defects. Scanning tunneling microscopy is used to investigate the distribution of chain lengths and the correlation between defects separating the chains. The length distribution reveals incommensurate oscillations that are linked to the electronic scattering vectors at the Fermi surface of the surface states. The pair-wise correlation function between defects shows longer range correlations than a prediction from the chain length distribution, which assumes nearest neighbor interactions alone. These correlations indicate a coupling between chains.

Citation

Physical Review Letters

Volume

96

Issue

15

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

ATOM, atomic chains, electronic, MICROSCOPY, one-dimensional, quantum length effects, SCATTERING, self-assembly, STATE, STATES

Citation

Crain, J. , Stiles, M. , Stroscio, J. and Pierce, D. (2006), Electronic Effects in Length Distribution of Atom Chains, Physical Review Letters (Accessed May 10, 2025)