Imaging using tip–surface distance variations vs. voltage in scanning tunneling microscopy

This paper presents a novel imaging technique related to scanning tunneling microscopy. It is based on the representation of distance–voltage characteristic amplitudes at each point in the scanned area. On polycrystalline gold surfaces, contrasts are found to be a function of crystallographic orientations. Moreover, this technique allows atomic resolution on graphite surfaces. In this case, elastic deformation at the atomic scale has to be considered to account for the contrasts observed.