The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is widely used in both industrial and
fundamental research to obtain atomic-scale images of metal surfaces. It
provides a three-dimensional profile of the surface which is very useful for
characterizing surface roughness, observing surface defects, and determining
the size and conformation of molecules and aggregates on the surface. Several
other recently developed scanning microscopies also use the scanning
technology developed for the STM. A precursor instrument, the topografiner,
was invented by Russell Young and colleagues between 1965 and 1971 at the
National Bureau of Standards (NBS) [currently the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST)].
Contents
|
STM image, 7 nm x 7 nm, of a single zig-zag chain of Cs atoms (red) on the GaAs(110) surface (blue).
|
This exhibit was prepared by Marilyn E. Jacox of the Physics Laboratory and J. William Gadzuk of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory as a project of the NIST Museum Committee. It is one of the exhibit panels in the NIST Virtual Museum.Exhibit layout designed by Gloria Wiersma and Bob Dragoset.
Online: November 1997