Quantum Confinement in Monatomic Cu Chains on Cu(111)

Abstract

The existence of one-dimensional (1D) electronic states in $\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}/\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}(111)$ chains assembled by atomic manipulation is revealed by low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our experimental analysis of the chain-localized electron dynamics shows that the dispersion is fully described within a 1D tight-binding approach. DFT calculations confirm the confinement of unoccupied states to the chain in the relevant energy range, along with a significant extension of these states into the vacuum region.