Photon mapping of MgO thin films with an STM

Abstract The light emission from an STM junction consisting of an MgO thin film on Mo(0 0 1) and an Au tip is analyzed with respect to its spatial distribution for various excitation conditions. The spectral characteristic of the light is compatible with an emission mechanism mediated by tip-induced plasmons that are excited by inelastic electron tunneling involving field-emission resonances in the tip–sample gap. The dependence of field-emission resonances on the MgO work function allows the controlled stimulation of differently thick oxide islands in the photon maps by changing the sample bias.