6533b855fe1ef96bd12b1359

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Electronic structure of MgO-supported Au clusters: quantum dots probed by scanning tunneling microscopy.

Pentti FrondeliusHannu HäkkinenKaroliina HonkalaMichael Walter

subject

Materials scienceJelliumScanning tunneling spectroscopyGeneral Physics and AstronomySpin polarized scanning tunneling microscopyConductive atomic force microscopyMolecular physicsElectrochemical scanning tunneling microscopelaw.inventionCondensed Matter::Materials ScienceDelocalized electronlawCondensed Matter::SuperconductivityPhysics::Atomic and Molecular ClustersCluster (physics)Atomic physicsScanning tunneling microscope

description

We investigate via density functional theory (DFT) the appearance of small MgO-supported gold clusters with 8 to 20 atoms in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) experiment. Comparison of simulations of ultrathin films on a metal support with a bulk MgO leads to similar results for the cluster properties relevant for STM. Simulated STM pictures show the delocalized states of the cluster rather than the atomic structure. This finding is due to the presence of s- derived delocalized states of the cluster near the Fermi energy. The properties of theses states can be understood from a jellium model for monovalent gold.

10.1103/physrevlett.99.096102https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17931021