A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is an instrument for imaging the surfaces at the atomic level. For an STM, good resolution is considered to be 0.1 nm lateral resolution and 0.01 nm depth resolution. With this resolution, individual atoms within materials are routinely imaged and manipulated. The STM can be used not only in ultra-high vacuum but also in air, water, and various other liquids or gas ambience. |