Russian Society of Scanning Probe Microscopy and Nanotechnology

The organizers of a Museum beforehand apologize for incompleteness of an exposition and ask the visitors of a Museum to send the remarks and exhibits.

Milestones on Scanning Probe Microscopy development.

Tube scanner.

Considerable simplification of design and improvement of operating characteristic were reached by usage of tube scanner, (G. Binnig, D.P.E. Smith. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 57 (8), 1986, 1688-1689.Full text)which remainds main type scanner up to now.

Fig 1. Drowing of a tube scanner showing the outside electrode sectuoned into four equal areas parallel to the axis of the tube. As voltage is applied to a single outside electrode the tube bends away from that electrode. Voltage applied to the inside electrode causes a uniform elongation. A small ac signal and a large dc offset can be sepatated on electrodes 180^o apart. A probe tip is shown mounted for an STM.

Prolytic graphite.

	Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite was introduced in research practice by Sang-II Park and C.F. Quate (Appl. Phys. Lett. 48 (2), 1986, 112-114. Full text). Its role in scanning probe microscopy development may not be overestimated. Possibility of comparatively simply in ambient air to reach atomic resolution have make graphite prevailing substrate for tunneling microscopy. Area of graphite applications is very wide: with help of graphite first steps in scanning tunneling microscopy methods studing are maked, structure for calibrating, atomic flate substrates for deposition various structures under consideration, good model substance for theoretical investigations etc. Below one of earlier STM images of graphite is presented, scan size 20x20 A.

Atomic -force microscope.

The Scanning Tunneling Microscope has considerable restriction, specimens must be electrically conducted. With invention of scanning atomic-force microscope by Binnig, Quate and Gerber(Phys.Rev.Lett.56,1986,930-933.Full text.), practicaly all types of specimens (up to investigation of protein structure in liquids) became available to measuring.

Near-field optical microscope.

Scanning probe microscopy made a major contribution to near-field optical microscopy development. Below the block diagram of near-field optical microscope is presented where to maintaining the probe-surface gap the tunnel current is used.( Durig U., D. W. Pohl, F. Rohner.Near-field optical-scanning microscopy.J. Appl. Phys.59 (10).1986. 3318-3327. Full text.).