Building the first Open Source (inexpensive) Scanning-Tunneling Electron Microscope (STM)

Img 0171

When people ask “what’s next” for Open Source Hardware, I think projects like this will be the direction some of the makers will head – Check out Sacha De’Angeli’s project, the first open source STM

Building the first Open Source (inexpensive) Scanning-Tunneling Electron Microscope (STM) – With just enough electronics knowledge to be dangerous and a lot of helpful friends, I embarked on the design and build of an arduino-controlled, affordable STM with the intention of releasing the hardware design, firmware, and software via open source licensing. The goal of this project is to address the following two problems in the world of STM:

Problem 1: The Scanning-Tunneling Electron Microscope, capable of resolving individual atoms, is so elegant a device that it won the 1986 Nobel Prize in physics. Despite it’s simplicity, STM microscopy can be an expensive endeavor: commercial equipment, while truly excellent, costs tens of thousands of dollars – well above the budget of hobbyists and entrepreneurs.

Problem 2: Due to Problem 1, there is a rich history of graduate students building STM devices on modest budgets. However these devices commonly require expensive external equipment (storing oscilloscopes, signal generators, commercial data capture boards, etc.). This external equipment is common in research labs, but not necessarily common to hobby and entrepreneurial workspaces. Additionally, the design information for these graduate student-built devices is spread out amongst theses and dissertations with no central repository of information; therefore, problem solving effort is often duplicated.

Sacha has worked in and around chemistry and engineering as a technician, student, researcher, hobbyist, and entrepreneur for over 14 years. He is currently the president of Pumping Station: One, Chicago’s premier hackerspace where he mostly herds cats and hackers. He also runs chemhacker.com where he discusses the intersection between science, art, opera, creativity, chemistry, and scanning-tunneling electron microscopy. He has recently spoken at Notacon 2010 and will be presenting his STM project at the Open Science Summit in Berkeley, CA July 29-31.

4 thoughts on “Building the first Open Source (inexpensive) Scanning-Tunneling Electron Microscope (STM)

  1. John Stoner says:

    can’t wait to see it in operation! Would love to see it at Maker Faire, but I can see it’s a better fit at the Open Science Summit. Knock em dead, Sacha!

  2. BobsYourUncle says:

    Just called a Scanning Tunneling Microscope, fyi. That’s what Binnig and Rohrer named it. There is something called a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope, but that’s an entirely different animal.

    Also, there was a simple, inexpensive STM posted online years ago that employed a segmented piezo buzzer and a sound card to make an STM. I used it to teach a course though I interfaced it to a Burleigh analog controller rather than diving into the electronics.

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

current: @adafruit - previous: MAKE, popular science, hackaday, engadget, fallon, braincraft ... howtoons, 2600...

View more articles by Phillip Torrone

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK