SPM-glossary
Gerd
K. BinnigGerd K. Binnig, along with his colleague, Heinrich Rohrer, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in in 1986 for his work in scanning tunneling microscopy. Binnig and Rohrer were recognized for developing the powerful microscopy technique, which can form an image of individual atoms on a metal or semiconductor surface by scanning the needle of a tip over the surface at a height of only a few atomic diameters. They shared the award with German scientist Ernst Ruska, designer of the first electron microscope. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 20, 1947, Dr. Binnig was educated at J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1973 and his doctorate degree in 1978. That year he joined a physics research group at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory. Dr. Binnig was assigned to IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., from 1985 to 1986, and was a visiting professor at nearby Stanford University from 1987 to 1988. Dr. Binnig was appointed an IBM Fellow in 1987 and remains a research staff member at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory. |