Tip apex charging effects in tunneling spectroscopy

The influence of charged STM tip on the electron transport through quantum states on a surface is studied both theoretically and experimentally. The current and the differential conductance calculations are carried out by means of the Green's function technique and a tight-binding Hamiltonian. It is shown that sharp STM tip is extra occupied and this additional charge breaks the conductance symmetry for positive and negative STM voltages. The experiment on Ag islands with two STM tips (blunt and sharp) confirms our theoretical calculations.