title: Dynamics and energetics of Ge(001) dimers.
abstract: The dynamic behavior of surface dimers on Ge(001) has been studied by positioning the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope over single flip-flopping dimers and measuring the tunneling current as a function of time. We observe that not just symmetric, but also asymmetric appearing dimers exhibit flip-flop motion. The dynamics of flip-flopping dimers can be used to sensitively gauge the local potential landscape of the surface. Through a spatial and time-resolved measurement of the flip-flop frequency of the dimers, local strain fields near surface defects can be accurately probed.
authors.affiliation: Physical Aspects of Nanoelectronics and Solid State Physics, MESA(+) Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Houselt
authors.forename: Raoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Gastel
authors.forename: Bene
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poelsema
authors.forename: Harold J W
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zandvliet