Nonlocal Manipulation of Dimer Motion at Ge(001) Clean Surface via Hot Carriers in the Surface States

TL;DR

This study demonstrates nonlocal control of dimer defect motion on Ge(001) surfaces by hot carriers injected via STM, revealing energy- and distance-dependent effects influenced by surface state band structure.

Contribution

It introduces a novel nonlocal manipulation method of surface defects using hot carriers in surface states, with insights into anisotropic critical distances.

Findings

Defect motion depends on carrier energy and tunneling point distance.

Motion is explained by hot carrier electronic excitation model.

Critical distance is anisotropic and matches surface band structure.

Abstract

Nonlocal one-dimensional motions of a topological defect are induced by electron tunneling through the dangling-bond states on the clean Ge(001) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy below 80 K. The direction of the motion depends both on the energy of the carriers in the surface state and on the distance between the defect and the tunneling point. The results are interpreted using an electronic excitation model by hot carriers injected to the surface states. The critical distance of the motion is anisotropic and consistent with the band structure of the surface states.