[Zurück]

I. Gebeshuber, M. Drack, F. Aumayr, Hp. Winter, F. Franek:
"Scanning Probe Microscopy: From Living Cells to the Subatomic Range";
in: "Biosystems Investigated by Scanning Probe Microscopy", herausgegeben von: Fuchs, Harald; Bhushan, Bharat (Eds.), 1st Edition., 2010, 834 p., Hardcover; Springer: New York, 2010, ISBN: 978-3-642-02404-7, S. 359 - 385.

In this chapter the reader will be introduced to scanning probe microscopy of samples varying by seven orders of magnitude in size (Fig. 13.1). The largest samples presented are living cells, measuring some hundreds of micrometers. Small units of life, biomolecules with only some tens of nanometers, are the next sample. They are
investigated while interacting with each other in real-time. One more step down in size, small ion-induced defects on atomically flat crystals represent structures in the nanometer regime. New data storage devices might result from such investigations. Finally, single electron spin detection (dozens of atomic layers beneath the surface) and the imaging of atomorbitals extend scanning probemicroscopy to the subatomic regime. Gathering of 3D atomic-level information of (bio)molecules embedded in their natural environment or single defect imaging in bulk silicon might be possible with these new techniques in the near future. These versatile applications demand methods such as scanning tunneling microscopy at ultra-low temperatures (1.6K) or atomic force microscopy in ultra-high vacuum (10−11 mbar). Furthermore, in many cases, specially engineered and/or functionalized scanning probe tips are needed.