title: A high stability and repeatability electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope.
abstract: We present a home built electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope (ECSTM) with very high stability and repeatability. Its coarse approach is driven by a closely stacked piezo motor of GeckoDrive type with four rigid clamping points, which enhances the rigidity, compactness, and stability greatly. It can give high clarity atomic resolution images without sound and vibration isolations. Its drifting rates in XY and Z directions in solution are as low as 84 pm/min and 59 pm/min, respectively. In addition, repeatable coarse approaches in solution within 2 mm travel distance show a lateral deviation less than 50 nm. The gas environment can be well controlled to lower the evaporation rate of the cell, thus reducing the contamination and elongating the measurement time. Atomically resolved SO4(2-) image on Au (111) work electrode is demonstrated to show the performance of the ECSTM.
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jihao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yubin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qingyou
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu