Study of dynamic processes on semiconductor surfaces using time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy

The time resolution of a conventional scanning tunneling microscope can be improved by many orders of magnitude by recording open feedback loop current-time traces. The enhanced time resolution comes, however, at the expense of the ability to obtain spatial information. In this paper, we first consider the Ge(111)-c(2 x 8) surface as an example of how surface dynamics can show up in conventional STM images. After a brief introduction to the time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy technique, its capabilities will be demonstrated by addressing the dynamics of a dimer pair of a Pt modified Ge(001).