Conductance and Kondo effect of a controlled single atom contact

The tip of a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope is brought into contact with individual Kondo impurities (cobalt atoms) adsorbed on a Cu(100) surface. A smooth transition from the tunneling regime to a point contact with a conductance of $Gapproxtext{G}_0$ occurs. Spectroscopy in the contact regime, {it i. e.}, at currents in a $mutext{A}$ range was achieved. A modified line shape is observed indicating a significant change of the Kondo temperature $T_{text{K}}$ at contact. Model calculations indicate that the proximity of the tip shifts the cobalt $d$-band and thus affects $T_{text{K}}$.