Scanning tunneling microscope

The scanning tunneling microscope (not to be confused with scanning electron microscopes), or STM, was invented in 1981 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer of IBM's Zurich Lab in Zurich, Switzerland. The invention garnered the two a Nobel prize for physics in 1986. The STM allows scientists to see and position individual atoms with higher resolution than its related cousin, the atomic force microscope (AFM). Both the STM and the AFM fall under the class of scanning probe microscopy instruments.

Related Topics:
Scanning electron microscope - Gerd Binnig - Heinrich Rohrer - Nobel prize - Atomic force microscope - Scanning probe microscopy

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It is used to obtain images of conductive surfaces at an atomic scale ~2 Å (2 x 10-10 m or 0.2 nm). It can also be used to alter the observed material by manipulating individual atoms, triggering chemical reactions, and creating ions by removing individual electrons from atoms and then reverting them to atoms by replacing the electrons.

Related Topics:
Å - Nm - Atoms - Ions - Electrons

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The acronym STM is used for both ""scanning tunneling microscope"" and ""scanning tunneling microscopy.

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