A HIGH/LOW MAGNIFICATION SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE

THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND EVALUATION OF A NOVEL SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE (STM) FOR ROUTINE SURFACE MICROTOPOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS. THIS PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT IS DESIGNED TO COVER AN EXTENSIVE MAGNIFICATION RANGE FROM 2500X TO 10(8)X. SINCE THE ENTIRE STM UNIT IS SMALL ENOUGH TO BE MOUNTED ON A6-IN CONFLAT FLANGE, IT CAN BE READILY INSTALLED ONTO ANY ULTRA-HIGH VACUUM CHAMBER WITH A STANDARD SIZED PORT. THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE DESIGNED TO OPERATE IN BOTH VACUUM AND AMBIENT AIR ENVIRONMENTS. FURTHERMORE, THE STM DESIGN WILL NOT ONLY BE USER-FRIENDLY TO THE OPERATOR BUT WILL ALSO INCORPORATE FEATURES ALLOWING EASE OF MANUFACTURE AND MAINTENANCE. THE HIGH/LOW MAGNIFICATION STM PROMISES TO FULFILL MOST OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF SURFACE MICROSCOPY IN A NON-DESTRUCTIVE FASHION WITH FEW OF THE DISADVANTAGES ENCOUNTERED IN CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF MICROSCOPIC IMAGING.