What is a scanning tunnel microscope?

Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is an innovative type of microscope that uses quantum tunneling between the sample and the probe to display the surface instead of using light, such as conventional optical microscopes. The StM resolution can be up to 0.1 Nm of lateral resolution and 0.01 Nm of deep resolution. This is several times higher than the resolution reachable using the best electron microscopes.

STM can work in different environments: In addition to ultra high vacuum, it also works in saturated water, air, etc. The microscope is very flexible. However, the surface must be very clean and the STM tip must be very sharp, causing practical challenges when displaying. The STM developed Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer in 1981. In 1986 they won the Nobel Prize for Physics for Working on STM.

TIP STM is so sharp that it consists of only one atom. When the tip is "boring" and consists of two atoms of Rather than one, this leads to the most clear images. Challenge in the vYetting sufficiently sharp tips led researchers to explore the use of carbon nanotubes as STM tips because they are very rigid and easy to produce. The tip is sometimes called "stylus" and the combination of platinum-Iiridium is one of the most used tip materials.

Like many other microscopes, it is often necessary to create a useful STM to create a useful STM. Magnetic levitation schemes were used in the earliest systems, although today systems are the most popular in spring. Shortly after the STMS became common knowledge, a high school student was able to create gross using only about $ 100 (USD) materials. An oscilloscope was used as a display screen.

The tip of the STM is governed by a "piezo" or a piezoelectric crystal that bends in a small but very predictable way in response to the electrical field. In STM, the tip movement is completely checked by a computer.