Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Nanoworld Exploration: STM & AFM Basics

Description

This lecture covers the principles of accessing the nanoworld through self-assembly techniques, lithography methods, and the use of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for imaging surfaces at the atomic scale.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Chemical engineering

Nanotechnology: Topics in nanotechnology

Related concepts (32)

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology, often shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scales for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. A more generalized description of nanotechnology was subsequently established by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which defined nanotechnology as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm).

Atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit.

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.

Nanolithography

Nanolithography (NL) is a growing field of techniques within nanotechnology dealing with the engineering (patterning e.g. etching, depositing, writing, printing etc) of nanometer-scale structures on various materials. The modern term reflects on a design of structures built in range of 10−9 to 10−6 meters, i.e. nanometer scale. Essentially, the field is a derivative of lithography, only covering very small structures. All NL methods can be categorized into four groups: photo lithography, scanning lithography, soft lithography and other miscellaneous techniques.

Self-assembly

Self-assembly is a process in which a disordered system of pre-existing components forms an organized structure or pattern as a consequence of specific, local interactions among the components themselves, without external direction. When the constitutive components are molecules, the process is termed molecular self-assembly. Self-assembly can be classified as either static or dynamic. In static self-assembly, the ordered state forms as a system approaches equilibrium, reducing its free energy.

Related lectures (62)

Self-organized growth at surfaces

Explores self-organized growth at surfaces and covers instrumentation, destructive exposure, manipulation with SIM, nanostructures, and thin film growth.

Nano: Fundamentals and Applications

Explores the fundamentals and applications of nanostructures, including dimensionalities, surface-to-volume ratio, fabrication techniques, and nanotechnology's impact on various fields.

BioNanoArchitectonics: from atoms to medicine

Introduces BioNanoArchitectonics principles, from Particle Physics to smart materials and molecular control at the nanoscale.

Scanning Probe Microscopy

Explores the principles and applications of Scanning Probe Microscopy techniques.

Nanoscale Properties: Surface Effects and Quantum Phenomena