Lateral engineering of surface states - towards surface-state nanoelectronics.
Patterned metal surfaces can host electron quantum waves that display interference phenomena over distances of a few nanometres, thus providing excellent information carriers for future atomic-scale devices. Here we demonstrate that collimation and waveguiding of surface electrons can be realized in silver-induced strain dislocation networks on Cu(111) surfaces, as a conceptual proof-of-principle of surface-state nanoelectronics (SSNE). The Ag/Cu(111) system exhibits featured surface bands with gaps at the Fermi energy, which are basic requirements for a potential SSNE material. We establish a solid analogy between the behavior of surface-state electrons and surface plasmons in patterned metal surfaces, thus facilitating the transfer of existing knowledge on plasmonic structures to the new scenario presented by engineered electronic surface-state nanostructures, with the advantage of a 1000-fold reduction in wavelength and geometrical parameters.
García de Abajo
F J
FJ
Instituto de Optica - CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid, Spain. jga@cfmac.csic.es
Cordón
J
J
Corso
M
M
Schiller
F
F
Ortega
J E
JE
D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry; D004581:Electronics; D004583:Electrons; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
D012834:Silver; D003300:Copper