A “Pushy” Microscope
The process of ultra-miniaturization has been termed nanofabrication. It looks like the scanning tunneling microscope (STU) and related microscopes will be players in this technology of the future. One of the most recent contributions has been the demonstration that single molecules can be “pushed” across a surface with the STM. This remarkable achievement was demonstrated by Thomas Jung, Reto Schlittler, and James Gimzewski of the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory and Hao Tang and Christian Joachim of the National Center for Scientific Research in Toulouse, They were able to position intact individual molecules on a two-dimensional surface at room temperature by a controlled “pushing” action of the tip of a STM. Similar positioning feats have been done at low temperatures while thermal motion is limited.