Electronic density oscillations in gold atomic chains assembled atom by atom.
Linear Au chains two to 20 atoms long were constructed on a NiAl(110) surface via the manipulation of single atoms with a scanning tunneling microscope. Differential conductance (dI/dV) images of these chains reveal one-dimensional electronic density oscillations at energies 1.0 to 2.5 eV above the Fermi energy. The origin of this delocalized electronic structure is traced to the existence of an electronic resonance measured on single, isolated Au atoms. Variations in the wavelength in dI/dV images of an eleven-atom chain taken at different energies revealed an effective electronic mass of 0.4+/-0.1 times the mass of a free-electron.
Wallis
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Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-4575, USA.
Nilius
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Ho
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