Workshop on the Specifications of a Generic Scanning Tunneling Microscope

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This project is in the Office of Special Projects in the category of instrumentation development. The recent develop- ment of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has excited widespread interest among the scientific community. The atomic resolution imaging capabilities of this microscopy are having an impact in many fields. This instrumentation provides atomic level spatial resolution of surface electronic structure, forces, and other surface and interfacial properties. Such a tool can be expected to have great impact in many fields of science and to find use in many laboratories. Many STM instruments are designed and fabricated by individual research groups and commercial products based on these individual designs are beginning to appear. Major costs associated with the STM result from development time rather than equipment cost. The opportunity exists for scientists to curtail duplication of effort by specifying the performance of STM instrumentation for general purpose research use. The objectives of the workshop are to define specifications for a modular, generic STM instrument and to stimulate commercial interest in such a generic instrument. The prospect for multiple purchase of generic STM's will also be explored.