Seeing how atoms vibrate at the Ångström scale

Probing the vibration of atoms provides detailed information on local structure and bonding that define material properties. Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) offers extremely high resolution to probe such vibrations. Krystof Brezina and Mariana Rossi from the MPI for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD), and Yair Litman from the MPI for Polymer Research (MPIP), have demonstrated that realistic, first-principles simulations are essential for interpreting TERS images of molecules and materials on surfaces. Their approach reveals how interactions with metallic substrates reshape vibrational imaging at the nanoscale. The work has now been published in ACS Nano.