Electron confinement in an STM-lithographed nanoscale domain on an Si(111)3~(1/2) × 3~(1/2)-Ag surface at room temperature

摘要

We demonstrate that scanning-tunneling microscope (STM) lithography on Si(111)3~(1/2) × 3~(1/2)-Ag surfaces enables us to fabricate two-dimensional (2D) quantum nanostructures that are stable at room temperature. A 20 nm structure was successfully drawn by applying a high bias voltage to the STM tip. Confinement of electrons in a two-dimensional free-electron-like S_1 surface band was confirmed by observing standing-wave patterns in the lithographed closed loop at room temperature. The patterns were compared with numerically calculated ones using a finite-element method (FEM) code.