1207.3995 (Krisztián Palotás)

Prediction of bias voltage dependent magnetic contrast from
spin-polarized tunneling spectroscopy    [PDF]

Krisztián Palotás

We propose a method to estimate the bias voltage dependent magnetic contrast observed on constant current spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) images from single point differential conductance (dI/dV) tunneling spectra. Depending on the number of single point measurements, the bias positions of magnetic contrast reversals and the maximally achievable magnetic contrast can be determined. We validate this proposal by simulating SP-STM images on a complex magnetic surface by employing a recently developed approach based on atomic superposition. Furthermore, we show evidence that the tip electronic structure has a major effect on the magnetic contrast. Our theoretical prediction should inspire experimentalists to considerably reduce measurement efforts for determining the bias dependent magnetic contrast on magnetic surfaces.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.3995