No Arabic abstract
We report on the experimental observation by scanning tunneling microscopy at low temperature of ring-like features that appear around Co metal clusters deposited on a clean (110) oriented surface of cleaved p-type InAs crystals. These features are visible in spectroscopic images within a certain range of negative tunneling bias voltages due to the presence of a negative differential conductance in the current-voltage dependence. A theoretical model is introduced, which takes into account non-equilibrium effects in the small tunneling junction area. In the framework of this model the appearance of the ring-like features is explained in terms of interference effects between electrons tunneling directly and indirectly (via a Co island) between the tip and the InAs surface.
Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in a vertical manganite junction was investigated by low-temperature scanning laser microscopy (LTSLM) allowing to determine the local relative magnetization M orientation of the two electrodes as a function of magnitude and orientation of the external magnetic field H. Sweeping the field amplitude at fixed orientation revealed magnetic domain nucleation and propagation in the junction electrodes. For the high-resistance state an almost single-domain antiparallel magnetization configuration was achieved, while in the low-resistance state the junction remained in a multidomain state. Calculated resistance $R_mathrm{calc}(H)$ based on the local M configuration obtained by LTSLM is in quantitative agreement with R(H) measured by magnetotransport.
Ni2MnGa(100) surface has been investigated in the premartensite and martensite phase by using scanning tunneling microscopy. The presence of twined morphology is observed in the premartensite phase for Mn excess surface which exhibit non-equispaced parallel bands in one side of the twin boundary. Moreover, in the flat region of the surface two domains of non-periodic parallel bands corresponding to the incommensurate CDW is observed. Although, stoichiometric surface also exhibit twining but the parallel bands are equispaced and have equal corrugation. Most interestingly, coexistence of twined morphology and the CDW pattern is observed in the premartensite phase for Ni excess surface which was not reported till date. In the martensite phase for Mn excess surface, incommensurate CDW is transformed to commensurate CDW corresponding to the equispaced parallel bands. In stark contrast, stoichiometric surface exhibit parallel bands that have different periodicity in different regions. Both the voltage dependent STM and STS measurement establishes that this morphology is also related to the CDW.
Following the intense studies on topological insulators, significant efforts have recently been devoted to the search for gapless topological systems. These materials not only broaden the topological classification of matter but also provide a condensed matter realization of various relativistic particles and phenomena previously discussed mainly in high energy physics. Weyl semimetals host massless, chiral, low-energy excitations in the bulk electronic band structure, whereas a symmetry protected pair of Weyl fermions gives rise to massless Dirac fermions. We employed scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy to explore the behavior of electronic states both on the surface and in the bulk of topological semimetal phases. By mapping the quasiparticle interference and emerging Landau levels at high magnetic field in Dirac semimetals Cd$_3$As$_2$ and Na$_3$Bi, we observed extended Dirac-like bulk electronic bands. Quasiparticle interference imaged on Weyl semimetal TaAs demonstrated the predicted momentum dependent delocalization of Fermi arc surface states in the vicinity of the surface-projected Weyl nodes.
As emerging topological nodal-line semimetals, the family of ZrSiX (X = O, S, Se, Te) has attracted broad interests in condensed matter physics due to their future applications in spintonics. Here, we apply a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to study the structural symmetry and electronic topology of ZrSiSe. The glide mirror symmetry is verified by quantifying the lattice structure of the ZrSe bilayer based on bias selective topographies. The quasiparticle interference analysis is used to identify the band structure of ZrSiSe. The nodal line is experimentally determined at $sim$ 250 meV above the Fermi level. An extra surface state Dirac point at $sim$ 400 meV below the Fermi level is also determined. Our STM measurement provides a direct experimental evidence of the nodal-line state in the family of ZrSiX.
We compare STM investigations on two hexaboride compounds, SmB$_6$ and EuB$_6$, in an effort to provide a comprehensive picture of their surface structural properties. The latter is of particular importance for studying the nature of the surface states in SmB$_6$ by surface-sensitive tools. Beyond the often encountered atomically rough surface topographies of {it in situ}, low-temperature cleaved samples, differently reconstructed as well as B-terminated and, more rarely, rare-earth terminated areas could be found. With all the different surface topographies observed on both hexaborides, a reliable assignment of the surface terminations can be brought forward.