5. Instrumentation

The development of a local probe microscope requires the resolution of delicate instrumentation problems. These concern the probe, the device for moving the probe and sample relative to each other, and its calibration with very high precision. Particular attention must be paid to the electronics of the servo system that controls the movement of the probe during scanning.

Finally, isolation from environmental vibrations is essential. It should be noted that the first attempt at a microscope very similar to the tunneling microscope, the topografiner , was a partial failure (unable to operate in tunneling mode, i.e.,...