Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of decanethiol on Au(111) at elevated temperatures

We have studied decanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111) in UHV by inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) performed with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). This study reveals inelastic peaks, which can successfully be assigned to molecular vibration modes (Au-S or S-C stretch modes, and C-C stretch mode or CH$_{2}$ modes). It is remarkable that these modes can be detected already at 77 K, i.e. at a much higher temperature than commonly used in IETS measurements.