We present a new scanning tunneling microscope (STM) developed specifically for use at low temperatures within a standard helium cryostat. This compact STM (diameter 25 mm and length 61 mm) has been designed to be compatible with a superconducting magnet. It incorporates a novel approach system which operates in any orientation including the vertical one, without any mechanical connections to the STM. It is able to translate a sample by 30 Å steps in any orientation. The coarse and the fine approach are driven by a single piezoelectric tube via inertial slip-stick motion of the sample holder. During the coarse approach, the translator can be moved over 15 mm at 0.25 mm/s against gravity. We have operated this STM down to 1.6 K and we have obtained images with atomic resolution on highly oriented pyrolitic graphite (HOPG) and NbSe2 from 300 K down to 90 K. This partially thermal compensated instrument is able to monitor temperature dependent surface changes on atomic scale in real time.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Renner et al. (1990) studied this question.