Atomic scale imaging and spectroscopy of individual electron trap states using force detected dynamic tunnelling

We report the first atomic scale imaging and spectroscopic measurements of electron trap states in completely non-conducting surfaces by dynamic tunnelling force microscopy/spectroscopy. Single electrons are dynamically shuttled to/from individual states in thick films of hafnium silicate and silicon dioxide. The new method opens up surfaces that are inaccessible to the scanning tunnelling microscope for imaging and spectroscopy on an atomic scale.