Schackert, M., Märkl, T., Jandke, J., Hölzer, M., Ostanin, S., Gross, E. K. U., Ernst, A., Wulfhekel, W.
Local measurement of the Eliashberg function of Pb islands: Enhancement of electron-phonon coupling by quantum well states
Physical Review Letters 114, (4),pp 047002/1-5 (2015)
Inelastic tunneling spectroscopy of Pb islands on Cu(111) obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy
below 1 K provides a direct access to the local Eliashberg function of the islands with high energy
resolution. The Eliashberg function describes the electron-phonon interaction causing conventional
superconductivity. The measured Eliashberg function strongly depends on the local thickness of the
Pb nanostructures and shows a sharp maximum when quantum well states of the Pb islands come close to
the Fermi energy. Ab initio calculations reveal that this is related to enhanced electron-phonon coupling at these thicknesses.
TH-2015-02