Probing individual nanostructures with STM-induced light emission

We present the results of our latest work using the spectroscopy of light emitted by a sample under the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). For the quantum wells in AlGaAs/GaAs layered structures, we have demonstrated that the emission spectra from individual wells can be measured by this method and that the minority carrier diffusion length can be estimated in real space. Furthermore, we have discovered that the emission linewidth depends on the location even within an individual well. On the reconstructed Au(110)-(2×1) surface, the emission from an atomically localized electronic transition in the valley between the atomic rows was found.