| dc.description |
A scanning probe microscope (SPM), providing an ultra high vacuum (UHV), gas or liquid environment, is presented. It is intended for nanoscale processing and surface research, such as electron controlled chemical lithography (ECCL). The SPM device is mounted on the preparation chamber of a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) UHV system. Tips and samples can be transferred under vacuum, to and from a small-volume UHV compatible SPM cell which has electrical feedthroughs and gas/liquid inlets and is closable from the MBE system. The air-side of the SPM cell is deformable with three (x,y,z) external piezoelectric actuators, controlling the tip-sample distance, and the (x,y) scanning. Piezoelectric actuators, capacitive displacement sensors and coarse-approach unit are all in a single scanning-unit in air, which is removed for the vacuum system bakeout procedure. Characterization measurements are presented of imaging capabilities in atomic resolution. |
