State-Selective Observations of Molecular Orbitals by Means of Field Emission Microscopy (FEM)

Field Emission Microscopy (FEM) is adopted as a possible tool for the state-selective study of the transfer of field-emitted electrons to single adsorbed molecules, which is the initial stage of discharge in vacuum. In the FEM image from the molecule-adsorbed tip, we have recognized the electron-captured state of the adsorbed molecule in a real-time and real-space manner. In this paper, we present the observed FEM patterns from various molecules and discuss the possibility of a state-selective study of adsorbed molecules using FEM.