Nano-sonar uses electrons to measure under the surface
Friday, February 27, 2009 - 13:56
in Physics & Chemistry
Just as sonar sends out sound waves to explore the hidden depths of the ocean, electrons can be used by scanning tunnelling microscopes to investigate the well-hidden properties of the atomic lattice of metals. As researchers from Göttingen, Halle and Jülich now report in the high-impact journal Science, they succeeded in making bulk Fermi surfaces visible in this manner. Fermi surfaces determine the most important properties of metals.