title: Soft control of scanning probe microscope with high flexibility.
abstract: Most commercial scanning probe microscopes have multiple embedded digital microprocessors and utilize complex software for system control, which is not easily obtained or modified by researchers wishing to perform novel and special applications. In this paper, we present a simple and flexible control solution that just depends on software running on a single-processor personal computer with real-time Linux operating system to carry out all the control tasks including negative feedback, tip moving, data processing and user interface. In this way, we fully exploit the potential of a personal computer in calculating and programming, enabling us to manipulate the scanning probe as required without any special digital control circuits and related technical know-how. This solution has been successfully applied to a homemade ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscope and a multiprobe scanning tunneling microscope.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructures and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhenghui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yuzheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu