Abstract
Direct imaging of topographic and electronic surface stuctures with atomic resolution has been a dream of solid state physicists. This dream was realized after the invention of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) by Binnig, Rohrer and coworkers in 1981 [1]. After the observation of the real-space image of Si(111)— (7 x 7) [2], which had been an unresolved problem for more than 20 years, scanning tunneling microscopy has been accepted as a powerful tool in the physics of surface science. A huge amount of papers has been published and many specialized conferences have been organized [3]. The STM is one of very few instruments in surface physics giving extremely high atomic resolution and not being confined to the high vacuum environment. Of course, the best results of the STM surface imaging are obtained in vacuum on the specially prepared surfaces, but some chemically inert surfaces like gold or graphite can be successfully observed in the air. Because almost all surfaces interact with atoms of their surroundings, the clean surfaces exposed to the air
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