Scanning Probe Microscopes position their sensing tips to precisions better than 10-10 meters (the size of a single atom!). This incredible control is based on the use of "piezoelectric crystals." These materials bend or shrink in the presence of electric fields. This page explains that strange behavior.
To start this tour, click the "Next Scene" button at the bottom of this page.
To navigate further, use the buttons at the bottom of the page. (You can also move between scenes by using your keyboard’s arrows, and then play movies by clicking enter/return).
At any point, you can jump ahead by clicking an icon above the picture.
To visit the companion Scanning Probe Microscope webpage, CLICK HERE.
