Femtosecond scanning tunneling microscope

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). By combining scanning tunneling microscopy with ultrafast optical techniques we have developed a novel tool to probe phenomena on atomic time and length scales. We have built and characterized an ultrafast scanning tunneling microscope in terms of temporal resolution, sensitivity and dynamic range. Using a novel photoconductive low-temperature-grown GaAs tip, we have achieved a temporal resolution of 1.5 picoseconds and a spatial resolution of 10 nanometers. This scanning tunneling microscope has both cryogenic and ultra-high vacuum capabilities, enabling the study of a wide range of important scientific problems