Variable-temperature independently driven four-tip scanning tunneling microscope.
The authors have developed an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) variable-temperature four-tip scanning tunneling microscope (STM), operating from room temperature down to 7 K, combined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Four STM tips are mechanically and electrically independent and capable of positioning in arbitrary configurations in nanometer precision. An integrated controller system for both of the multitip STM and SEM with a single computer has also been developed, which enables the four tips to operate either for STM imaging independently and for four-point probe (4PP) conductivity measurements cooperatively. Atomic-resolution STM images of graphite were obtained simultaneously by the four tips. Conductivity measurements by 4PP method were also performed at various temperatures with the four tips in square arrangement with direct contact to the sample surface.
Hobara
Rei
R
Department of Physics, School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. rei@surface.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Nagamura
Naoka
N
Hasegawa
Shuji
S
Matsuda
Iwao
I
Yamamoto
Yuko
Y
Miyatake
Yutaka
Y
Nagamura
Toshihiko
T
D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D016252:Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013696:Temperature; D014159:Transducers