Atomic-Resolution Lattice Images of Graphite

With our new microscope, we are now routinely getting atomic-resolution images. The image below shows a graphite sample that was imaged by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The scan range of the entire image is less than 7 nm. This means that the width of the entire sample area shown below is about 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a hair!

Each of the yellowish dots in the highlighted, magnified area represents one of the atoms which form the typical hexagonal "honeycomb" structure of the graphite lattice. This tool allows us to study nanomaterials at many different length scales, down to atomic dimensions.