Using a single molecule as a sensor, scientists have successfully imaged electric potential fields with unrivalled precision. The ultrahigh-resolution images provide information on the distribution of charges in the electron shells of single molecules and even atoms. The 3D technique is also contact-free. The first results achieved using “scanning quantum dot microscopy” have been published in the current issue of Physical Review Letters.
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| Top: The scanning quantum dot micrograph of a PTCDA molecule reveals the negative partial charges at the ends of the molecule as well as the positive partial charges in the centre. Centre: Simulated electric potential above a PTCDA molecule with molecular structure. Bottom: Schematic of charge distribution in the PTCDA molecule. Source: Forschungszentrum Jülich |
