High‐stability bimorph scanning tunneling microscope

A novel scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is described which is constructed almost entirely of aluminum and uses bimorph piezoelectric disks as the x,y,z drive elements. The design uses a simple, rugged tripod configuration for the fine motion drive arms. Coarse motion of the sample, which is moun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of scientific instruments 1987-08, Vol.58 (8), p.1343-1348
Main Authors: Blackford, B. L., Dahn, D. C., Jericho, M. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electron, positron and ion microscopes, electron diffractometers and related techniques
Exact sciences and technology
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Physics
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Summary:A novel scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is described which is constructed almost entirely of aluminum and uses bimorph piezoelectric disks as the x,y,z drive elements. The design uses a simple, rugged tripod configuration for the fine motion drive arms. Coarse motion of the sample, which is mounted on an aluminum holder, is achieved by pushing or pulling, with a piezoelectric louse. Differential thermal expansion effects are avoided by design, to first order, and the resulting drift is ≤0.5 Å/min after only a short warm‐up period. It is easy to build and operate, and has good immunity to mechanical vibrations. The frequency response is flat to 5 kHz. The x,y,z drive sensitivity is 8 Å/V and the range is ≥12000 Å. Some preliminary experimental results are presented, including atomic resolution images in air, of graphite and NbSe2.
ISSN:0034-6748
1089-7623
DOI:10.1063/1.1139658