Tunneling Microscope

A tunneling microscope, specifically a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), is a device that images surfaces at an atomic level. It works by hovering a sharp metal tip extremely close to a sample’s surface. When a voltage is applied, electrons “tunnel” through the tiny gap between the tip and sample, creating a current that varies with surface features. By scanning the tip across the surface and measuring this current, the STM constructs highly detailed images of the surface's atomic structure, allowing scientists to observe and manipulate individual atoms and molecules.