Atomic force microscope takes a closer look at individual atoms

Hot on the heels of Purdue's Mini 10 chemical analyzer comes a (somewhat) similar creature from the other side of the globe, as Osaka University's Yoshiaki Sugimoto and colleagues have "found a way to use the atomic force microscope to produce images that reveal the chemical identity of individual atoms on a surface." Essentially, this new discovery allows scientists to look at a mixed material and "pick out individual atoms of different elements on its surface, such as tin or silicon." The microscopes themselves are quite common in this realm, but until now, they have not been capable of distinguishing between atoms of different chemical elements. The atomic fingerprint, as it's so aptly named, is what the crew scrutinized in order to distinguish between varying atoms on a sample surface, as they witnessed that the relationship between force and distance is "slightly different for atoms of different elements." Of course, we have to look for the practical use in all this hubbub, and a non-participating scientist from the UK has insinuated that the discovery could be useful for nanotechnology researchers trying to design devices at the molecular level -- and who wouldn't be down a little nanotech garb or a snazzy new water-repelling umbrella?

[Guibock @ Mar 2nd 2007 5:45AM]

Ok now, who will be the first to draw a SuperMario or a PacMan with atoms this way ?? :)

[ph @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:20AM]

I thought that atoms were so small that when you could view them, they would be blown away by the light required to see them. I guess I was wrong.

[Alex @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:32AM]

I'm not sure, but I think that a frequency other than normal light is used to view them.

[Vortex @ Mar 2nd 2007 7:46AM]

As I recall, atomic force microscopy involves dragging an extremely fine needle across a surface and measuring the resultant forces to build a map of the surface's height. Light is not used directly on the sample.

X-rays can be used for atomic-resolution crystal structure determination, and, while vaporization is certainly an issue with that technique, there exist methods to limit its significance.

[Geun Lee @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:36AM]

Yeah vortex is right. We have an AFM machine in our lab, but it's pretty much shit compared to what that image above shows.

There is a fine needle that drags across the surface of the material. This needle is attached to a cantilever that moves up and down varying with thickness. To translate these thicknesses into data, a laser beam picks up on these very small movements.

You couldn't draw any smiley faces with this. The AFM is used for getting a digital picture of the surface morphology.

[Dragonmann @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:10AM]

It is sub atomic particles that get kicked around by Heisenberg, atoms, especially atoms in a solid matrix are pretty easy to find.

[PeteC @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:41AM]

That image hurts my eyes! it's out of fcus and my eyes keep trying to focus it and then the rest of the page goes out of focus almost like a weird optical illusion my eyes just can't deal with not being able to sort out the lack of focus.

That would be a useful technique for some work we're doing at the moment though looking at some surface modifications on polymers.

[KernelPanic @ Mar 2nd 2007 3:36PM]

Heisenberg compensators to maximum!!!