Construction of a digitally controlled scanning tunneling microscope

The development of micro- and nano-scale robots for medical applications will require an understanding and intuition for nanoscale phenomena as well as a suite of new miniaturized technologies. The scanning tunneling microscope (STM), invented in 1980 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM, and related scanning probe microscopes such as the atomic force microscope are among the most advanced instruments yet built to explore our world at the nanometer and even subnanometer level. This thesis describes the construction of a computer controlled scanning tunneling microscope, the characterization of its performance, and some results that have been obtained using the microscope including atomic resolution images of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. What is believed to be the first polymer to polymer tunneling junction is also described as the first step towards an all polymer STM. The lessons learned from the construction of the STM will be applied in the design of future nanoscale structures.