The Advanced Photon Source
a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility

Instrumentation

SX-STM V1 SX-STM V2 SX-STM V3
2006-2009 2010-present 2015-present
 
The emerging in situ high-resolution Synchrotron X-ray Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (SX-STM) technique takes advantage of the chemical, electronic, and magnetic sensitivity of synchrotron radiation and combines it with the sub-nanometer spatial resolution of scanning tunneling microscopy.
Generally, an insertion device of a synchrotron storage ring produces high brilliant x-rays. The photon energy is then selected by a monochromator before x-rays arrive on the sample. The microscope is located on a damping stage that offers vibration isolation. It can be coarse aligned (x,y,z,θ) in respect to the x-ray beam. A sharp tip is scanned over the sample surface utilizing a piezo scanner. The tip current provides chemical contrast, when a special topography filter is used.
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