John Baldeschweiler is supported by a Small Grant for Exploratory Research from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program and the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities to develop chemically derivatized Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) probe tips. The goals of this research are to: 1) to attach high-aspect adducts to the tip; and 2) to attach specific chemical moieties. At the present time users who want near-atomic resolution depend essentially on luck to produce good tips. The ability to attach high-aspect adducts will make it possible to obtain near-atomic resolution reliably and reproducibly. The ability to attach specific chemical moieties would lead to a mechanism for chemical contrast. Preliminary calculations indicate that an AFM has sufficient sensitivity to detect an interaction weaker than a single hydrogen bond. The development of nanotechnology requires the ability to create and analyze structures with atomic precision. However, in order for nanotechnology to become a reality, the ability to image and analyze materials on the atomic scale is essential. STM and AFM have already generated striking results in material science, chemistry and biology. The ability to image the effects of nanomanipulation reliably will depend on the development of reproducibly high-aspect tips, and the development of chemical contrast mechanisms.
