DOI: 10.1063/1.92999 ISSN:

Tunneling through a controllable vacuum gap

G. Binnig, H. Rohrer, Ch. Gerber, E. Weibel
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

We report on the first successful tunneling experiment with an externally and reproducibly adjustable vacuum gap. The observation of vacuum tunneling is established by the exponential dependence of the tunneling resistance on the width of the gap. The experimental setup allows for simultaneous investigation and treatment of the tunnel electrode surfaces.