Oscillatory Bias Dependence of the Visible Height of Monatomic Pb(111) Steps: Consequence of the Quantum-Size Effect for Thin Metallic Films

Abstract

Local structural and electronic properties of thin Pb(111) films grown on a Si(111)7 × 7 surface are experimentally studied by means of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS). It is shown that the visible height h of the monatomic step on Pb(111) surface demonstrates oscillatory dependence on a bias voltage U. The period of these oscillations coincides with the period of the oscillations of both local tunneling conductance (dI/dU) and the rate of the STM tip displacement (dZ/dU) at sweeping U. It points to the fact that the observed oscillations of the visible height of monatomic Pb(111) step are controlled by coherent resonant tunneling of electrons from the STM tip to the Pb(111) film through quantum-well states in the thin Pb(111) film. We argue that the maximum and minimum visible heights of the monatomic Pb(111) step correspond to the bias voltages, at which local densities of states for the Pb(111) terraces of different thicknesses are equal.