King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals

Electrical Engineering Department

Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM); its

Structure and Applications in Nanotechnology
Mohammed Sawlan- 279295, Junior Student
EE340-03 Electromagnetics

Abstract- the ability of producing a high resolution, three

dimensional image of a material surface in a nano scale and
manipulating its discrete atoms has been one of the most
powerful breakthroughs in the history of science. The scanning
tunneling microscope (STM) is an electron microscope that uses a
single atom tip to scan/manipulate materials surfaces in
nanometer scale. Many scientists believe that the invention of
STM was the birth of nanoscience. This report will emphasize on
the main components of STM, its theory of operation, its vital
applications in nanotechnology, and the future improvement of
STM operation and precision.

I.
DISCOVERY:
In 1986, the Nobel Prize for physics was granted for
the two inventors of STM named Gerd Binnig, a German
physicist, and Heinrich Rohrer, a Swiss physicist, during
their work at International Business Machines (IBM), an
American multinational computer and IT corporation.[3]
II.
INTRODUCTION:
STM has opened a new era for materials
engineering that meets todays and futures demands. It can
scan a material surface with a 0.1 nm width and 0.01 nm
depth resolutions. Having this precision, STM is a powerful
instrument that can image and dislocate individual atoms of
different materials and therefore reengineer the materials
surfaces to meet the desired demands of science and industry.
The device can operate at harsh conditions such as from near
zero Kelvin up to hundred degrees Celsius and can be placed
in an ultra-high vacuum (a desirable condition to prevent
contaminations), air, water, and various other liquid or gases.
[7]
III.
STM STRUCTURE:
STM consists of scanning tip, piezoelectric tube,
tunneling current amplifier, and a computer to process and
display the data, as shown in Figure 1.
A. Scanning Tip:
The tip of STM is considered as the most important
part of the device. The smaller the tip radius is the more
EE 340-03 Electromagnetics

precise and better scanning the STM performs.

Its
manufacturing requires lots of high precision and it is
accomplished in different stages. The first one is the
mechanical sharpening that uses a wire cutter and tweezers to
hold the wire and produce sharp mini tips of 1000 nm radius.
Then, a field emission is utilized to cleanly sharp the tip by
applying a high DC voltage (200-600V), producing 10-100
nm radius tips. Finally, electrochemical etching is used
usually in NaOH to produce 10-30 nm radius tips. STM tips
are usually made of Tungsten because of the possibility of
using Electro-chemical etching techniques to create singleatom tips. Other materials like Platinum-iridium and gold can
be utilized. [2]

Fig.1. Scanning Tunneling Microscope Structure

B. Pizoelectrical tube:
A pizoelectrical tube or transducer is a ceramic
positioning device that expands or contracts in response to a
change in applied voltage. Its used in STM to accurately
position the scanning tip within 2 nanometers above the
surface and also to pass the tunneling current to be processed
by the computer. Examples are piezocrystals (quartz,
BaTiO3) and Piezoceramics (Pb(Ti,Zr)O3). [5][4]
C. Tunneling Current Amplifier:
After applying a high basing voltage between the tip
and the material surface, a tunneling current based on
quantum mechanics theory will follow through a current
Student Research Term Project 101/2010-2011

King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals

amplifier in order to make the results out of this current

readable by the computer. [7]
D. Computer Processing:
The computer is used to maintain the tip position
over the sample, control scanning the sample, and also
acquire data out of the scanning. In addition, further image
processing to enhance the scanned image and several
quantitative measurements on the data can be achieved by the
help of special enhancing applications. [7]

IV.
ITS THEORY OF OPERATION:
In classical physics, an object bounces back at a high
potential when it doesnt have enough energy. However, in
quantum mechanics, its wave function dies off exponentially
through that potential. So, by making the distance short
enough, there will be a noticeable probability of finding that
particle across that potential. This particle can be considered
as the electron coming out of the scanning tip of the STM
and tunnel through the air (high potential) to the surface.
Quantum mechanics predicts that the wave function
dies exponentially based on Schrdingers equation to obtain:
I

, where I is the current (A), d is the distance(m) from
the tip to the surface, and k is the material constant.
For example, when d changes by 1 , the current
changes by a factor of about 10. Therefore, the tunneling
current is very sensitive to the gap distance, making it more
precise to detect the minor changes in distance by current
inspection. [7][3]
V.

ITS NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS:

A. Surface Science Studies:

By processing the amount of tunneling current with
respect of the tip-surface gad distance, STM has a great
impact on surface science. STM has been used to study
metals and semiconductors such as Si(100) which is the core
substrate material for microelectronics device fabrication.
Other examples are the inventions of Si(111) 7x7, Au(111),
and SiC(0001) 3x3. [8]
B. Metrological Applications:
STM images have improved the nanotopography of
surfaces by providing high precision analysis. For instance, a
diamond-turned Al substrate was analyzed by STM to be
used in a high capacity hard disc drive.[8]
EE 340-03 Electromagnetics

Electrical Engineering Department

C. Manipulation of Atoms:
In 1989, Don Eigler in IBM was able to show an
image of 35 Xenon with its atoms arranged to the word IBM.
This dislocating of atoms was performed with STM by
increasing the tunneling current(increasing the bias voltage)
and decreasing the tip-surface gap, therefore creating an
attractive bond between the tip atom and the a single atom in
the material. This invention has created ongoing
breakthroughs in materials engineering.[1]
VI.
WINDOW TO FUTURE:
The properties of the scanning tips reflect the
performance of STM scanning. Scientists believe that that
Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have a great potential to be used
as scanning tips for STM because of their great
electromagnetic and mechanical properties such as highly
conductive to electricity, ulra-thin with a range of 1.5 to 15
nm radius, crash-proof material because of the high strength
of C-C bond, and the stable electronic structure of the tip. [6]
VII.
CONCLUSION
STM technology of scanning surfaces at nanometer
scale motivated many other microscopy techniques to be
developed such as Photon Scanning Microscopy (PSTM),
utilizing an optical tip to tunnel photons; Scanning Tunneling
Potentiometry(STP), measuring electrical potential across a
surface; and Spin Polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
(SPSTM), utilizing ferromagnetic tip to tunnel spin-polarized
electrons into a magnetic sample. [7]
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
I sincerely thank my EE340-Electomagnetic
instructor, Dr. Husain Masoudi for his ongoing support,
feedback, and efforts that made writing this report possible.
REFRENCES:
[1] Individual Atom Manipulation University of Wisconsin 2008.
[2] Jorgen Muller Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Applications
<http://www.e-basteln.de/index_q.htm>.
[3] Lucas Carlson Scanning Tunneling Microscope Reed College, USA
march 2004.
[4] Martin Pickel Scanning Tunneling Microscope Ulrich Starke 2000.
[5] Peter Bedrossian Scanning Tunneling Microscope: Opening a New Era
of Materials Engineering Science& Technology, Harvard
University, USA 1995.
[6] Sarah A. Burke What Properties of Carbon Nanotubes Might Make the
Appropriate Use as STM tips? Oxford University 1999.
[7] Scanning Tunneling Microscope Wikipedia Foundation Inc. 2010.
[8] Tit-wah Hui Scanning Tunneling Microscope: Some Applications
<http://www.chembio.uoguelph.ca/educmat/chm729/stmpage/
stmappl.htm>.

Student Research Term Project 101/2010-2011