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Concept information

Preferred term

scanning tunneling microscopy

Type

  • Topic

Definition

  • Information A type of scanning probe microscopy in which a very sharp conducting needle is swept just a few angstroms above the surface of a sample. The tiny tunneling current that flows between the sample and the needle tip is measured, and from this are produced three-dimensional topographs. Due to the poor electron conductivity of most biological samples, thin metal coatings are deposited on the sample.

Synonyms

  • scanning tunnelling microscopy

In other languages

URI

https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/188546

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