Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy

Abstract

In 1981, the age of the scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) began when Binnig, Rohrer, and cowokers developed the first scanning tunneling microscope (STM) [1]. Their setup was based on measuring an electrical tunneling current between a sharp metal tip and a conducting sample. For the first time, a sample surface could be imaged with true atomic resolution in real space. The STM launched the development of several other types of SPMs. In general, these microscopes consist of a small, submicrometer probe, which senses a certain physical interaction with the sample and which is scanned over the sample to generate an image. For example, Pohl et al. invented the scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) in 1984 [2], which uses an evanescent electromagnetic field in the subwavelength range to image the sample. In 1986, Binnig and co-workers developed the atomic force microscope (AFM), which is based on measuring the mechanical forces between a sharp tip and the sample [3]. The AFM is not limited to conducting or transparent samples and has become one of the most important tools in nanoscale science. The AFM also works in aqueous environments, such as buffer solutions and so is well suited for biological samples [4]. Since then, several related SPMs have been developed, such as the magnetic force microscope [5,6] the electrical force microscope [7], and the scanning electrochemical force microscope (SECM) [8].KeywordsScanning Tunneling MicroscopeSample DistanceMagnetic Force MicroscopeDistance ControlPiezo ActuatorThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.