Scanning probe microscopy

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a branch of microscopy that forms images of surfaces using a physical probe that scans the specimen. SPM was founded in 1981, with the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. The first successful scanning tunneling microscope experiment was done by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer. The key to their success was using a feedback loop to regulate gap distance between the sample and the probe. Many scanning probe microscopes can image several interactions simultaneously. The manner of using these interactions to obtain an image is generally called a mode. The resolution varies somewhat from technique to technique, but some probe techniques reach a rather impressive atomic resolution. This is due largely because piezoelectric actuators can execute motions with a precision and accuracy at the atomic level or better on electronic command. This family of techniques can be called "piezoelectric techniques". The other common denominator is that the data are typically obtained as a two-dimensional grid of data points, visualized in false color as a computer image. AFM, atomic force microscopy Contact AFM Non-contact AFM Dynamic contact AFM Tapping AFM AFM-IR CFM, chemical force microscopy C-AFM, conductive atomic force microscopy EFM, electrostatic force microscopy KPFM, kelvin probe force microscopy MIM, microwave impedance microscopy MFM, magnetic force microscopy PFM, piezoresponse force microscopy PTMS, photothermal microspectroscopy/microscopy SCM, scanning capacitance microscopy SGM, scanning gate microscopy SQDM, scanning quantum dot microscopy SVM, scanning voltage microscopy FMM, force modulation microscopy STM, scanning tunneling microscopy BEEM, ballistic electron emission microscopy ECSTM electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope SHPM, scanning Hall probe microscopy SPSM spin polarized scanning tunneling microscopy PSTM, photon scanning tunneling microscopy STP, scanning tunneling potentiometry SXSTM, synchrotron x-ray scanning tunneling microscopy SPE, Scanning Probe Electrochemistry SECM, scanning electrochemical microscopy SICM, scanning ion-conductance microscopy SVET, scanning vibrating electrode technique SKP, scanning Kelvin probe FluidFM, fluidic force microscopy FOSPM, feature-oriented scanning probe microscopy< MRFM, magnetic resonance force microscopy NSOM, near-field scanning optical microscopy (or SNOM, scanning near-field optical microscopy) nano-FTIR, broadband nanoscale SNOM-based spectroscopy SSM, scanning SQUID microscopy SSRM, scanning spreading resistance microscopy SThM, scanning thermal microscopy SSET scanning single-electron transistor microscopy STIM, scanning thermo-ionic microscopy CGM, charge gradient microscopy SRPM, scanning resistive probe microscopy To form images, scanning probe microscopes raster scan the tip over the surface.