Behavior of a magnetic atom on a metal surface

Abstract

Abstract Several interesting phenomena can be observed when we measure the tunneling current in the vicinity of a magnetic atom adsorbed on a metal surface with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). As a result of electron tunneling between the STM tip and the localized orbitals of the magnetic atom, and between the STM tip and states of metal conduction electrons scattered by the magnetic atom, we could observe peak structures and concentric standing waves about the magnetic atom, respectively, in the corresponding STM image. Furthermore, in the vicinity of the magnetic atom, we could observe dip structures in the differential conductance spectra, whose energy widths correspond to the Kondo temperature. Thus, we could say that, with an STM, we now have a means to actually see the Kondo effect. We hope that with a more detailed understanding of the behavior of magnetic atoms on metal surfaces, we can actually observe the Kondo effect in real space, and thus realize one of our long-standing dreams for doing research on dilute magnetic alloys.