Polarized Light Emission from the Metal-Metal STM Junction

D.T. Pierce, A. Davies, J.A. Stroscio, and R.J. Celotta

Applied Physics A 66, S403-S406 (1998).

Abstract:

The polarization of light emitted during inelastic tunneling of electrons into both Au(111) and Fe(001) using W(111) tips in an STM junction has been fully characterized by measuring the Stokes parameters. The emitted light for both Au(111) and Fe(001) is fully polarized; it is predominantly linearly polarized in the plane formed by the tip axis and direction of light emission. For both samples, there is a small circular polarization which is tip dependent and can be attributed to tip asymmetries. No magnetization dependent circular polarization was observed for Fe(001).

Keywords: electroluminescence; magnetic imaging; polarized light emission, scanning tunneling microscopy



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