The scanning tunneling microscope is proposed as a method to measure forces as small as 10-18 N. As one application for this concept, we introduce a new type of microscope capable of investigating surfaces of insulators on an atomic scale. The atomic force microscope is a combination of the principles of the scanning tunneling microscope and the stylus profilometer. It incorporates a probe that does not damage the surface. Our preliminary results in air demonstrate a lateral resolution of 30 A and a vertical resolution less than 1 A.

https://link.aps.org/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.56.930

Atomic force microscope

/pdf/self-assembled-monolayers-of-thiolates-on-metals-as-a-form-1neb0hj3k4.pdf

Self-assembled monolayers of thiolates on metals as a form of nanotechnology.

In this work we briefly describe the most relevant features of WSXM, a freeware scanning probe microscopy software based on MS-Windows. The article is structured in three different sections: The introduction is a perspective on the importance of software on scanning probe microscopy. The second section is devoted to describe the general structure of the application; in this section the capabilities of WSXM to read third party files are stressed. Finally, a detailed discussion of some relevant procedures of the software is carried out.

https://nanoed.tul.cz/pluginfile.php/1608/mod_resource/content/1/view.pdf

WSXM: a software for scanning probe microscopy and a tool for nanotechnology.

Surface microscopy using vacuum tunneling is demonstrated for the first time. Topographic pictures of surfaces on an atomic scale have been obtained. Examples of resolved monoatomic steps and surface reconstructions are shown for (110) surfaces of CaIrSn 4 and Au.

https://link.aps.org/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.49.57

Surface studies by scanning tunneling microscopy

1. Introduction 2. Theoretical foundations 3. Propagation and focusing of optical fields 4. Spatial resolution and position accuracy 5. Nanoscale optical microscopy 6. Near-field optical probes 7. Probe-sample distance control 8. Light emission and optical interaction in nanoscale environments 9. Quantum emitters 10. Dipole emission near planar interfaces 11. Photonic crystals and resonators 12. Surface plasmons 13. Forces in confined fields 14. Fluctuation-induced phenomena 15. Theoretical methods in nano-optics Appendices Index.

/pdf/principles-of-nano-optics-1hz998yqo8.pdf

Principles of nano-optics

An overview of the status of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) is given. So far, the method has been applied mainly to surface structures. Examples are given for reconstructions on metal and semiconductor surfaces and adsorbate structures. It will become evident that the technique is likewise applicable to chemical investigations of surfaces on an atomic scale.

Scanning tunneling microscopy

Quantum mechanics has dramatically changed our perception of atoms, molecules, and condensed matter and established the central role of electronic states for electronic, chemical, and mechanical properties. Electronics, understood broadly as the motion of electrons and the deformation of their arrangements, has become the basis of our high-tech world, including “electronics,” computer science, and communications. Mechanics, on the other hand, understood as the motion of the mass of atomic cores and the deformation of their arrangements, played a lesser role, at best that of the guardian of the electron. Quantum mechanics has become, for many, synonymous with electronic states and electronics, whereas mechanics is considered the Stone Age. In this respect, the “mechanical” scanning tunneling microscope (STM) came as a surprise. The STM is a mechanically positioned, electrically sensitive kind of nanofinger for sensing, addressing, and handling individually selected atoms, molecules, and other tiny objects and for modifying condensed matter on an atomic scale (Sarid, 1991; Giintherodt and Wiesendanger, 1992; Chen, 1993; Stroscio and Kaiser, 1993; Hamers, Weaver, Weimer, and Weiss, 1996). And like with finger tips, it is the “touch” that makes the difference (see Fig. 1). Back to the future of mechanics: Nanomechanics, a new era.

In Touch with Atoms

Guanine, one of the four DNA bases, has been observed by tunneling microscopy to form a two-dimensional ordered structure on two crystalline substrates, graphite and MoS2. The two-dimensional lattice formed by guanine is nearly identical on the two surfaces, and heteroepitaxy appears to be the growth mechanism in both cases. Although the resolution of molecular details is superior for the graphite substrate, the simpler results on MoS2 are not only easier to interpret but also facilitate the understanding of the more complex images on graphite. We propose that the interfacial structure is composed of linear chains of hydrogen-bonded molecules aligned into a closely packed two-dimensional array.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/88/18/8003.full.pdf

Two-dimensional ordering of the DNA base guanine observed by scanning tunneling microscopy

Scheme for the automated apprehension of textual information conveyed in an input string. The input string is segmented to generate segments and/or semantical units. The following steps are repeated for each segment in the input string until a subset for each segment in said input string is identified:
 a. identifying a matching semantical unit in a fractal hierarchical knowledge database of semantical units and pointers, said matching semantical units being deemed to be related to a segment of said input string, b. determining the fitness of said matching semantical unit by taking into consideration said semantical unit's associations, c. defining a subset of information related to said matching semantical unit within said fractal hierarchical knowledge database. Then these subsets are combined to form a resulting semantic network.

Processing of textual information and automated apprehension of information

The present invention concerns a storage device comprising a local probe array (72) and a storage medium (70) with an array of storage fields (71). The local probe array (72) is situated opposite to the storage medium (70) such that each local probes (73) of the local probe array can be scanned over the corresponding storage field (71). The storage device further comprises circuit for distinguishing between information to be erased from a first section of the storage medium and information in this section which is not to be erased, circuit for selectively copying the information which is not to be erased into a memory, preferably another section of said medium, and circuit for erasing the whole first section.

Gerd Binnig

Papers

Scanning tunneling microscopy

In Touch with Atoms

Two-dimensional ordering of the DNA base guanine observed by scanning tunneling microscopy

Processing of textual information and automated apprehension of information

Mass-storage applications of local probe arrays