Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) Binnig and Rohrer 1981 (Nobel Prize in Physics 1986)

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM)Binnig and Rohrer 1981 (Nobel Prize in Physics 1986)

Electric current proportional to quantummechanical probablility amplitude of tunnelingthrough the energy barrierWavefunction decays eponentially in barrier regionz

E(z)E0Ud1Current in ciruit limited buy tunneling of electronsQuantum mechaincal effectNegitive kenetic energy in classicaly forbidden region -> exponential decay of tunneling probablilty -> current is exponential in sample-tip sepperation