Life Sciences Commons^™

A Review Of Graphite And Gold Surface Studies For Use As Substrates In Biological Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies, Carol R. Clemmer, Thomas P. Beebe Jr.

Scanning Microscopy

The current status of biological Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) investigations and the importance of using a well-characterized substrate are discussed. The findings of over two years of experiments and over 1,000 images obtained on gold substrates prepared by a variety of different methods are statistically summarized and compared to a very flat reference substrate, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). In an effort to begin to corroborate STM results with those obtained from other more established techniques, the results of Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) of biomolecular STM samples are presented.

The Scanning Probe Microscope, J. Jahanmir, B. G. Haggar, J. B. Hayes

Scanning Microscopy

Scanning probe microscopy bas evolved into a powerful tool since its inception in 1982. The scanning probe microscope bas found applications in metrology, spectroscopy, and lithography. We will review the background of the technology, discuss the different types of scanning probe microscopes including the scanning tunneling microscope and the scanning force microscope, and present many of the applications for the instrument.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Of Biological Macromolecular Structures Coated With A Conducting Film, M. Amrein, H. Gross

Scanning Microscopy

We have studied the capability of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to reveal the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecular structures that have been rendered conductive by metal-coating. The sample preparation used has been derived from a well established method in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It includes adsorption, freezing and dehydration by vacuum-sublimation, followed by metal-shadowing of the specimen. As an alternative to adsorption and coating, fluid biomaterials can be replaced by conductive freeze-fracture replica.

We give an introduction into the sample preparation of metal-coated specimens and discuss how each step can affect the structural preservation and thereby the quality of the …

The Stability Of Adsorbates Imaged With A Scanning Tunneling Microscope Using Hopping Versus Constant Current Scanning, Terje G. Vold

Scanning Microscopy

We have studied the stability of various adsorbates, including gold, a platinum-iridium alloy, and DNA, on monoatomically flat gold imaged with a scanning tunneling microscope. We find that adsorbates are generally more stable, sometimes dramatically so, if imaged with a hopping trajectory of the tip rather than with the conventional constant-current scanning technique. Gold pits and associated debris formed on flat gold surfaces under saline solution by mechanical impact of the tip with the surface are always much more stable when imaged with hopping. Samples of thin, sub-monoatomic layers (0.1 nm and 0.2 nm thick) of a platinum-iridium alloy evaporated …

The Application Of Multispectral Techniques To Analytical Electron Microscopy, P. G. Kenny, M. Prutton, R. H. Roberts, I. R. Barkshire, J. C. Greenwood, M. J. Hadley, S. P. Tear

Scanning Microscopy

The York multispectral analytical electron microscope (MULSAM) was the first instrument specifically designed to acquire and process multiple Auger, X-ray, backscattered electron, elastically scattered electron, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and specimen absorption current images simultaneously. Analyzing combinations of these signals with multispectral correlation techniques yields more information than would normally be obtained by treating each image separately. This paper reports some of the multispectral methods we have investigated at York which may be of use to other workers. Included are (1) a method that corrects for beam current fluctuations during long acquisition runs which is based on the anti-correlation between …