Through bond tunneling in an immobilized alkane chain on Si(111) 7 × 7 studied by STM

Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images of individual chemisorbed 1,13-tetradecadiene molecules on Si(111)7 × 7 reveal a white protrusion situated at the location of the aliphatic chain. This increase in transmission is explained by an additional channel for tunneling introduced by the chain: through bond tunneling. The images of the atomically resolved surface allow to characterize the location and magnitude of these spots. The variability in the relative position of spots found is associated with different conformations of the molecules.