Nt_STM: A step forward in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) simulations

Abstract We present the Nt_STM software suite designed to help analysis and interpretation of Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) images, via the simulation of STM data under different tip and bias conditions and facilitating their comparison against the experimental ones. The Nt_STM package includes two components: (i) an intuitive and directive Graphical User Interface (GUI) designed to build a precise model of the STM set-up and analyze the simulation results and, (ii) a powerful simulation engine ( GREEN ) allowing an efficient, yet accurate, calculation of the tunneling current necessary to generate current or topographic images, I(V) spectra as well as various properties such as band structures, Local Density Of State (LDOS), etc. The Nt_STM package, at its current version 2.0, gives the opportunity to access parallel computation, a new collection of objects and new Extended Huckel parameters.