Boosting Spatial and Energy Resolution in STM with a Double-functionalized Probe

Overview

Journal Sci Adv

Specialties Biology
Science

Date 2024 Aug 28

PMID 39196925

Authors

Artem Odobesko

Raffael L Klees

Felix Friedrich

Ewelina M Hankiewicz

Matthias Bode

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The scattering of superconducting pairs by magnetic impurities on a superconducting surface leads to pairs of sharp in-gap resonances known as Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bound states. Similar to the interference of itinerant electrons scattered by defects in normal metals, these resonances reveal a periodic texture around the magnetic impurity. The wavelength of these resonances is, however, often too short to be resolved even by methods capable of atomic resolution, i.e., scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We combine a CO molecule with a superconducting cluster pre-attached to an STM tip to maximize both spatial and energy resolution, thus demonstrating the superior properties of such double-functionalized probes by imaging the spatial distribution of YSR states. Our approach reveals rich interference patterns of the hybridized YSR states of two Fe atoms on Nb(110), previously inaccessible with conventional STM probes. This advancement extends the capabilities of STM techniques, providing insights into superconducting phenomena at the atomic scale.

Citing Articles

Distance and Voltage Dependence of Orbital Density Imaging Using a CO-Functionalized Tip in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.

Paschke F, Lieske L, Albrecht F, Chen C, Repp J, Gross L ACS Nano. 2025; 19(2):2641-2650.

PMID: 39772482 PMC: 11760183. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c14476.

References

Chen . Tunneling matrix elements in three-dimensional space: The derivative rule and the sum rule. Phys Rev B Condens Matter. 1990; 42(14):8841-8857. DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.42.8841. View

Ruby M, Pientka F, Peng Y, von Oppen F, Heinrich B, Franke K . Tunneling Processes into Localized Subgap States in Superconductors. Phys Rev Lett. 2015; 115(8):087001. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.087001. View

Bose S, Raychaudhuri P, Banerjee R, Vasa P, Ayyub P . Mechanism of the size dependence of the superconducting transition of nanostructured Nb. Phys Rev Lett. 2005; 95(14):147003. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.147003. View

Gross L, Mohn F, Moll N, Liljeroth P, Meyer G . The chemical structure of a molecule resolved by atomic force microscopy. Science. 2009; 325(5944):1110-4. DOI: 10.1126/science.1176210. View

Mier C, Verlhac B, Garnier L, Robles R, Limot L, Lorente N . Superconducting Scanning Tunneling Microscope Tip to Reveal Sub-millielectronvolt Magnetic Energy Variations on Surfaces. J Phys Chem Lett. 2021; 12(11):2983-2989. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00328. View

Kim Y, Zhang J, Rossi E, Lutchyn R . Impurity-Induced Bound States in Superconductors with Spin-Orbit Coupling. Phys Rev Lett. 2015; 114(23):236804. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.236804. View

Choi D, Garcia Fernandez C, Herrera E, Rubio-Verdu C, M Ugeda M, Guillamon I . Influence of Magnetic Ordering between Cr Adatoms on the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States of the β-Bi_{2}Pd Superconductor. Phys Rev Lett. 2018; 120(16):167001. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.167001. View

Ruby M, Heinrich B, Peng Y, von Oppen F, Franke K . Wave-Function Hybridization in Yu-Shiba-Rusinov Dimers. Phys Rev Lett. 2018; 120(15):156803. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.156803. View

Ruby M, Peng Y, von Oppen F, Heinrich B, Franke K . Orbital Picture of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov Multiplets. Phys Rev Lett. 2016; 117(18):186801. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.186801. View

10.

Schneider L, Beck P, Neuhaus-Steinmetz J, Rozsa L, Posske T, Wiebe J . Precursors of Majorana modes and their length-dependent energy oscillations probed at both ends of atomic Shiba chains. Nat Nanotechnol. 2022; 17(4):384-389. PMC: 9018407. DOI: 10.1038/s41565-022-01078-4. View

11.

Kim H, Rozsa L, Schreyer D, Simon E, Wiesendanger R . Long-range focusing of magnetic bound states in superconducting lanthanum. Nat Commun. 2020; 11(1):4573. PMC: 7486372. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18406-8. View

12.

Chen . Origin of atomic resolution on metal surfaces in scanning tunneling microscopy. Phys Rev Lett. 1990; 65(4):448-451. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.65.448. View

13.

Liebhaber E, Acero Gonzalez S, Baba R, Reecht G, Heinrich B, Rohlf S . Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States in the Charge-Density Modulated Superconductor NbSe. Nano Lett. 2019; 20(1):339-344. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b03988. View

14.

Weiss C, Wagner C, Kleimann C, Rohlfing M, Tautz F, Temirov R . Imaging Pauli repulsion in scanning tunneling microscopy. Phys Rev Lett. 2010; 105(8):086103. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.086103. View

15.

Franke K, Schulze G, Pascual J . Competition of superconducting phenomena and Kondo screening at the nanoscale. Science. 2011; 332(6032):940-4. DOI: 10.1126/science.1202204. View

16.

Kezilebieke S, Dvorak M, Ojanen T, Liljeroth P . Coupled Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States in Molecular Dimers on NbSe. Nano Lett. 2018; 18(4):2311-2315. PMC: 6095633. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b05050. View

17.

Kuster F, Brinker S, Lounis S, Parkin S, Sessi P . Long range and highly tunable interaction between local spins coupled to a superconducting condensate. Nat Commun. 2021; 12(1):6722. PMC: 8602442. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26802-x. View

18.

Gross L, Moll N, Mohn F, Curioni A, Meyer G, Hanke F . High-resolution molecular orbital imaging using a p-wave STM tip. Phys Rev Lett. 2011; 107(8):086101. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.086101. View

19.

Kuster F, Montero A, Guimaraes F, Brinker S, Lounis S, Parkin S . Correlating Josephson supercurrents and Shiba states in quantum spins unconventionally coupled to superconductors. Nat Commun. 2021; 12(1):1108. PMC: 7889868. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21347-5. View

20.

Schneider L, Beck P, Wiebe J, Wiesendanger R . Atomic-scale spin-polarization maps using functionalized superconducting probes. Sci Adv. 2021; 7(4). PMC: 7817096. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd7302. View