Here are the slides I made up for the static display of the STM at OSS this weekend:
Here’s the latest:
I’m working to get the STM working as fast as possible, but it’s not 100% – I’ve got basic functionality tested and working, but no images yet – I’m hoping to have images within a month or so.
Current work:
- A new scanning head
- Complete the mechanical supports and approach mechanism (current state photo of the mechanicals, above)
- Programming the arduino and the python script that gathers the image data
- Final electronics testing
- Getting everything prepared for air flight (expect a post in the near future on preparing electronics for TSA inspection)
Here is a video of my latest tests – the digital side talking to the analog side and driving the scanning head (faintly):
If that’s not enough for you, here is some good background info to read about STMs:
Introduction to Scanning Probe Microscopy
Wikipedia Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) article
And you may be interested in the ChemHacker youtube channel. It’s a bit sparse now, but keep an eye out for updates as this project proceeds.
A few very quick updates:
- In case you missed the youtube video, the STM is now electronics hardware complete – well, I have a very small change coming in the mail (a two-in-one DAC chip) to replace the two separate DACs. This may improve the code efficiency slightly, but I’m going to wait a while before I implement the change.
- I’m working on the programming right now, and not sleeping much while I do because (see below)…
- I have been invited to display the STM at the Open Science Summit in Berkeley at the end of the month. If you’re there, stop by the Berkeley International House and say hello – I’ll be at the hardware tables.
…I have so much work to do between now and then…
video after the jump: