I was introduced to vacuum tunneling high over the Atlantic while flying to London in April 1982. For months prior to that flight I had been fretting about the future work of our microscopy research group at Stanford. We had just completed our work in acoustic microscopy and were looking for new directions. I was considering a variety of problems, such as the building of an x‐ray microscope, but nothing would fall into place. I thought that a trip to a conference in London might provide some time to get away and think. On the way to the airport I stopped by my office and picked up the latest issue of this magazine. I think we were over Iceland when I opened it and found a report (PHYSICS TODAY, April 1982, page 21) on a new form of scanning microscopy being developed in Zurich. In London, I changed my travel plans and went to Zurich. It proved to be the start of an adventure for our group, an adventure that still continues, undiminished in excitement.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
August 1986
August 01 1986
Vacuum Tunneling: A New Technique for Microscopy
The scanning tunneling microscope resolves individual atoms on surfaces by probing the surface electron wavefunctions with the tip of an extremely sharp needle, revealing a new world of steps, terraces and atomic arrays.
Calvin F. Quate
Calvin F. Quate
Stanford University
Search for other works by this author on:
Physics Today 39 (8), 26–33 (1986);
Citation
Calvin F. Quate; Vacuum Tunneling: A New Technique for Microscopy. Physics Today 1 August 1986; 39 (8): 26–33. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.881071
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionPERSONAL SUBSCRIPTION
Purchase an annual subscription for $25. A subscription grants you access to all of Physics Today's current and backfile content.
Citing articles via
Bats thrive in cluttered spaces
Kate Allen
Frictional flow patterns
Alex Lopatka
James Burkett Hartle
Thomas Hertog