Since Binnig, Rohrer and associates observed real-space topographic images of Si(111)-7×7 and invented the scanning tunneling microscope (STM),1) the STM has been accepted as a powerful surface science instrument.Recently, many application areas for the STM have been opened up, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and others. So, the STM technology holds a great promise for the future.The great advantages of the STM are its high spatial resolution in the lateral and vertical directions on the atomic scale. However, the STM has difficulty in identifying atomic images in a desired area because it uses piezoelectric (PZT) elements as a scanner.On the other hand, the demand to observe specimens under UHV condition has grown, along with the advent of the STM technology. The requirment of UHV-STM is especially very high in to study of surface construction of semiconductors and superconducting materials on the atomic scale. In order to improve the STM image quality by keeping the specimen and tip surfaces clean, we have built a new UHV-STM (JSTM-4000XV) system which is provided with other surface analysis capability.
Electrostatic effect on off-field ferroelectric hysteresis loop in piezoresponse force microscopy
