Ultrafast Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Project Ultrafast Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Scanning Tunneling Microscopy is a scanning probe technique that allows the details of a surface to be determined at a distance scale of an individual atom. A conducting tip, with a single atom at the end, is scanned over the surface, recording the electric current at each point to reconstruct the locations of atoms and electrons on the surface. The high degree of localization provided by STM provides an opportunity to study the dynamics of individual atoms on surfaces.
Nanotechnology is the science of engineering and constructing devices of individual atoms.
To become reality, the manipulation of individual atoms on surfaces, and the control of quantum mechanical systems with light will need to be much better understood. This project investigates new methods of nanolithography, and coherent quantum control of atoms. Preliminary studies have indicated that single atom switching processes, as between STM tip and a surface, should have resonances in the 1-10 THz range. We will develop the theory of optical interactions with these resonances and we will use shaped terahertz bandwidth optical pulse trains to explore these resonances. This interaction serves as a prototype atomic switching system.