Combination of a scanning tunneling microscope with a scanning electron microscope

Abstract

We have placed a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) in the sample stage of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). This allows us to focus the tip on a preselected spot for STM operation with a precision of 0.5 μm. We are able to check the state of the sample and the tip during STM operation by simultaneous use of the SEM. We are also able to correlate the images given by both techniques.