STM Observations of 2D Kr and Xe Adsorbed on Graphite

Crystalline structures of two dimensional rare-gas solids physisorbed on a graphite surface are studied with a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at T=4 K. We have obtained atomically resolved STM images of monolayer krypton (Kr) for the first time as well as those of xenon (Xe). It was observed that the 2D structure of Xe is destroyed with small tip-sample separation. Distinct changes in the local density of states were observed in tunneling spectra after the adsorption. For a multi-layer Xe film, a characteristic telegraph pattern of the tunneling current was also observed, which probably indicates single atom dynamics.