260044 VO Physics of surfaces and ultrathin films (2007S)

The analysis and manipulation of surfaces and ultrathin films on the atomic scale plays a pivotal role in modern materials physics and for many emerging technologies (patterned magnetic storage media with high information densities, molecular electronics, catalyst design). This lecture first provides a brief introduction to the basic theory (geometric and electronic structure of uppermost monolayers) and experimental methods of surface science (e.g., low energy electron diffraction, Auger-electron spectroscopy, scanning probe microscopy) including the important ultrahigh-vacuum technology. Subsequently, preferentially those topics of this extensive interdisciplinary field between physics and chemistry will be discussed, which show a pronounced relationship to solid state physics. This includes in particular the growth and properties of ultrathin films, which, depending on preparation conditions, may also grow as arrays of linear or point-like structures ("quantum wires" and "quantum dots"). Methodically the emphasis will be on scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, which allows the imaging and manipulation of single atoms and molecules. This makes this method particular important for analyzing complex surface structures and processes (film growth, surface diffusion, phase transitions) and the atomically resolved imaging of surface chemical order, crystal defects and scattering centers (e.g., standing electron waves or Kondo resonances near impurity or alloy atoms).