title: Imaging the electron-phonon interaction at the atomic scale.
abstract: Thin Pb films epitaxially grown on 7×7 reconstructed Si(111) represent an ideal model system for studying the electron-phonon interaction at the metal-insulator interface. For this system, using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy, we performed direct real-space imaging of the electron-phonon coupling parameter. We found that λ increases when the electron scattering at the Pb/Si(111) interface is diffuse and decreases when the electron scattering is specular. We show that the effect is driven by transverse redistribution of the electron density inside a quantum well.
authors.affiliation: Nanoelectronic Materials Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433, USA. Igor.Altfeder.Ctr@wpafb.af.mil
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Altfeder
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Matveev
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Voevodin