Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is a technique that allows the study of materials surface with a lateral resolution reaching the order of magnitude of a single atom. This extraordinary capability is obtained by scanning the sample surface by a metal tip maintained at a distance of a few nm, making possible a current flow by tunnel effect.
In addition to the microscopic investigation, scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) consents the study of the local surface density of electronic states.
The use of the tunnel microscope allows, therefore, a study of the structure of the surface and of the electronic properties of materials at the atomic level.
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