Past exam of the physics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2022 / Section B / 9 / c

A scanning tunneling microscope brings a tip and surface, both electrical conductors, close enough to leave only a small vacuum gap. An applied electric potential difference makes occupied Electron states on one side able to feed unoccupied states on the other. Although the gap is a classically forbidden potential barrier, quantum tunnelling through its finite width produces an electric current.

For an approximate rectangular potential barrier of gap width $d$, the transmission probability, and thus the electric current at fixed small bias, varies approximately as $e^{-2\kappa d}$. This strong distance dependence makes the device sensitive to changes in separation on the scale of a chemical atom. Feedback control moves the tip vertically to keep the electric current constant during a scan; the required height changes form an image of the surface, with contrast also depending on its electronic states. The finite gap permits transmitted probability current, whereas the semi-infinite step in part (b) does not.