Plasmon excitations in scanning tunneling microscopy: Simultaneous imaging of modes with different localizations coupled at the tip

Abstract

The authors investigate the localization of photons emitted at the tip during scanning tunneling microscopy measurements on atomically flat gold substrates. Emission patterns of the plasmon-mediated luminescence exhibit distinct features that are assigned to the localized modes of the surface plasmon (LSP) confined to the tunneling gap and propagating modes (PSP) coupled to the LSP by the optical cavity beneath the tip. Tunneling luminescence spectroscopy reveals that the plasmon localization at the tip increases when modes of higher energy are excited. Acquisition of local emission patterns allows us for the simultaneous imaging of LSP and PSP modes. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.