(The delicate inner structure of a pentacene molecule has been imaged with an atomic force microscope )IBM scientists have been able to image the ‘anatomy’ or chemical structure inside a molecule with unprecedented resolution, using a complex technique known as noncontact atomic force microscopy, says a company press release.
The results push the exploration of using molecules and atoms at the smallest scale and could greatly impact the field of nanotechnology, which seeks to understand and control some of the smallest objects known to mankind. The team’s current publication follows on the heels of another experiment published just two months ago in the June 12 issue of Science (pages 1428–1431) where IBM scientists measured the charge states of atoms using an atomic force microscope (AFM).
These breakthroughs will open new possibilities for investigating how charge transmits through molecules or molecular
networks. Understanding the charge distribution at the atomic scale is essential for building smaller, faster and more energy-efficient computing components than today’s processors and memory devices.
As reported in the August 28 issue of Science magazine, IBM Research, Zurich scientists Leo Gross, FabianMohn, Nikolaj Moll and Gerhard Meyer, in collaboration with Peter Liljeroth of Utrecht University, used an AFM (Atomic Force Microscope - Wikipedia)operated in an ultrahigh vacuum and at very low temperatures (–268 degree Centigrade or –451 degree Fahrenheit) to image the chemical structure of individual pentacene molecules. With their AFM, the IBM scientists, were able to look through the electron cloud and see the atomic backbone of an individual molecule. While not a direct technological comparison, this is reminiscent of x-rays that pass through soft tissue to enable clear images of bones.
THE TIP THAT TIPPED THE SCALE
The AFM uses a sharp metal tip to measure the tiny forces between the tip and the sample, such as a molecule, to create an image. To achieve this, the IBM scientists were required to increase the sensitivity of the tip.
The results push the exploration of using molecules and atoms at the smallest scale and could greatly impact the field of nanotechnology, which seeks to understand and control some of the smallest objects known to mankind. The team’s current publication follows on the heels of another experiment published just two months ago in the June 12 issue of Science (pages 1428–1431) where IBM scientists measured the charge states of atoms using an atomic force microscope (AFM).
These breakthroughs will open new possibilities for investigating how charge transmits through molecules or molecular
networks. Understanding the charge distribution at the atomic scale is essential for building smaller, faster and more energy-efficient computing components than today’s processors and memory devices.
As reported in the August 28 issue of Science magazine, IBM Research, Zurich scientists Leo Gross, FabianMohn, Nikolaj Moll and Gerhard Meyer, in collaboration with Peter Liljeroth of Utrecht University, used an AFM (Atomic Force Microscope - Wikipedia)operated in an ultrahigh vacuum and at very low temperatures (–268 degree Centigrade or –451 degree Fahrenheit) to image the chemical structure of individual pentacene molecules. With their AFM, the IBM scientists, were able to look through the electron cloud and see the atomic backbone of an individual molecule. While not a direct technological comparison, this is reminiscent of x-rays that pass through soft tissue to enable clear images of bones.
THE TIP THAT TIPPED THE SCALE
The AFM uses a sharp metal tip to measure the tiny forces between the tip and the sample, such as a molecule, to create an image. To achieve this, the IBM scientists were required to increase the sensitivity of the tip.
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