Characterization of just one atom using synchrotron X-rays

Tolulope M. Ajayi, Nozomi Shirato, Tomas Rojas, Sarah Wieghold, Xinyue Cheng, Kyaw Zin Latt, Daniel J. Trainer, Naveen K. Dandu, Yiming Li, Sineth Premarathna, Sanjoy Sarkar, Daniel Rosenmann, Yuzi Liu, Nathalie Kyritsakas, Shaoze Wang, Eric Masson, Volker Rose (), Xiaopeng Li, Anh T. Ngo and Saw-Wai Hla ()
Additional contact information
Tolulope M. Ajayi: Argonne National Laboratory
Nozomi Shirato: Argonne National Laboratory
Tomas Rojas: Argonne National Laboratory
Sarah Wieghold: Argonne National Laboratory
Xinyue Cheng: Ohio University
Kyaw Zin Latt: Argonne National Laboratory
Daniel J. Trainer: Argonne National Laboratory
Naveen K. Dandu: Argonne National Laboratory
Yiming Li: University of South Florida
Sineth Premarathna: Argonne National Laboratory
Sanjoy Sarkar: Ohio University
Daniel Rosenmann: Argonne National Laboratory
Yuzi Liu: Argonne National Laboratory
Nathalie Kyritsakas: University of Strasbourg, UMR UDS-CNRS 7140, Institut le Bel
Shaoze Wang: Ohio University
Eric Masson: Ohio University
Volker Rose: Argonne National Laboratory
Xiaopeng Li: Shenzhen University
Anh T. Ngo: Argonne National Laboratory
Saw-Wai Hla: Argonne National Laboratory

Nature, 2023, vol. 618, issue 7963, 69-73

Abstract: Abstract Since the discovery of X-rays by Roentgen in 1895, its use has been ubiquitous, from medical and environmental applications to materials sciences1–5. X-ray characterization requires a large number of atoms and reducing the material quantity is a long-standing goal. Here we show that X-rays can be used to characterize the elemental and chemical state of just one atom. Using a specialized tip as a detector, X-ray-excited currents generated from an iron and a terbium atom coordinated to organic ligands are detected. The fingerprints of a single atom, the L2,3 and M4,5 absorption edge signals for iron and terbium, respectively, are clearly observed in the X-ray absorption spectra. The chemical states of these atoms are characterized by means of near-edge X-ray absorption signals, in which X-ray-excited resonance tunnelling (X-ERT) is dominant for the iron atom. The X-ray signal can be sensed only when the tip is located directly above the atom in extreme proximity, which confirms atomically localized detection in the tunnelling regime. Our work connects synchrotron X-rays with a quantum tunnelling process and opens future X-rays experiments for simultaneous characterizations of elemental and chemical properties of materials at the ultimate single-atom limit.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06011-w

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