Phys. Rev. B 75, 165326 (2007) [6 pages]Role of the electric field in surface electron dynamics above the vacuum levelReceived 27 November 2006; revised 7 February 2007; published 30 April 2007 Scanning tunneling spectroscopy is used to study the dynamics of hot electrons trapped on a Cu(100) surface in field-emission resonances (FERs) above the vacuum level. Differential conductance maps show isotropic electron interference wave patterns around defects whenever their energy lies within a surface-projected band gap. Their Fourier analysis reveals a broad wave-vector distribution, interpreted as due to the lateral acceleration of hot electrons in the inhomogeneous tip-induced potential. A line-shape analysis of the characteristic constant-current conductance spectra permits establishing the relation between apparent width of peaks and intrinsic linewidth of FERs, as well as the identification of the different broadening mechanisms. © 2007 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.165326
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevB.75.165326
PACS:
73.20.At, 68.37.Ef, 71.20.Be
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