Scanning Tunneling Microscope

Post date: Jun 22, 2015 6:51:50 PM

The principle of scanning tunneling microscopy.

When a voltage is applied to an atomically sharp STM tip that is brought close to a molecule on a metal surface, a tunneling current flows between the tip and the molecule, injecting electrons into the molecule and inducing a molecular vibration. The intensity of the molecular vibration at a given voltage can be used to identify the molecule. This technique can also be used to induce a chemical reaction.