Quantum confinement in monatomic Cu chains on Cu(111)

Journal article, 2004

The quantum confinement in surface-supported atomic-scale metal chains was demonstrated, characterized by a pseudogap in the projected bulk band structure of the substrate. Low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used for the study. The chain-localized electron dynamics showed that the dispersion was fully described within a ID tight-binding approach. The results confirm the confinement of unoccupied states to the chain in the relevant energy range, along with a significant extension of these states into the vacuum region.