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Joined 2026-09-21 Message
For gold (110), the 1982 paper compared an untreated surface with one prepared by argon sputtering and annealing. Repeated cleaning reproduced the corrugation; the gap-modulation signal checked work function variation. This supported a structural interpretation while exposing the danger of confusing work function contrast with geometric relief.[ref]
Surface Studies by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy by Gerd Binnig and others. p. 59, Au preparation, repeated cleaning and modulated signal
The authored lecture describes resolving the surface reconstruction on gold (110), alongside ribbons of other periodicities. It also reports gold transfer to the tip on contact and fluctuating resolution, attributed tentatively to migrating tip chemical atoms. The probe could change during observation: an image was evidence requiring controls, not an unambiguous map of atomic positions.[ref]
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: From Birth to Adolescence by Gerd Binnig and others. pp. 398–399, Au(110) reconstruction, tip coating and changing resolution
Scanning tunneling microscope Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-18
In the 1982 experiment, separate drives using piezoelectricity scanned a metal tip laterally and adjusted its height. A control unit held electric current fixed at constant tip-sample electric potential difference; calibrated drive voltages supplied the displacement readout. Their Fig. 1 explicitly contrasts a surface step with apparent height from contamination changing the work function.[ref]
Surface Studies by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy by Gerd Binnig and others. pp. 58–59, Fig. 1, equation (1), piezodrive calibration
Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer describe a later vibration isolation system using two spring stages and eddy current damping inside a vacuum chamber, with sputtering and annealing for surface preparation. These measures addressed unwanted motion and surface condition separately.[ref]
