scanning tunneling microscope
E541363
A scanning tunneling microscope is a powerful instrument that images surfaces at the atomic scale by measuring quantum tunneling currents between a sharp conductive tip and a sample.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| scanning tunneling microscope canonical | 2 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T5722457 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: scanning tunneling microscope Context triple: [Gerd Binnig, coInvented, scanning tunneling microscope]
-
A.
TEM
TEM is the IATA airport code for Temora Airport, a regional airfield serving the town of Temora in New South Wales, Australia.
-
B.
AFM
AFM is the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, the national regulator overseeing fair and transparent operation of financial markets in the Netherlands.
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C.
Shubnikov–de Haas effect
The Shubnikov–de Haas effect is a quantum oscillatory phenomenon in the electrical resistance of conductors and semiconductors subjected to strong magnetic fields at low temperatures, used to probe their electronic structure and Fermi surface.
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D.
Moiré deflectometer
A Moiré deflectometer is a precision optical instrument that measures tiny angular deviations or deflections in particle or light beams by analyzing interference-like moiré fringe patterns formed by multiple gratings.
-
E.
Microscopic Imager
The Microscopic Imager is a close-up camera on the Mars Exploration Rovers designed to capture detailed, microscope-like images of Martian rocks and soil to study their fine-scale textures and structures.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: scanning tunneling microscope Target entity description: A scanning tunneling microscope is a powerful instrument that images surfaces at the atomic scale by measuring quantum tunneling currents between a sharp conductive tip and a sample.
-
A.
TEM
TEM is the IATA airport code for Temora Airport, a regional airfield serving the town of Temora in New South Wales, Australia.
-
B.
AFM
AFM is the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, the national regulator overseeing fair and transparent operation of financial markets in the Netherlands.
-
C.
Shubnikov–de Haas effect
The Shubnikov–de Haas effect is a quantum oscillatory phenomenon in the electrical resistance of conductors and semiconductors subjected to strong magnetic fields at low temperatures, used to probe their electronic structure and Fermi surface.
-
D.
Moiré deflectometer
A Moiré deflectometer is a precision optical instrument that measures tiny angular deviations or deflections in particle or light beams by analyzing interference-like moiré fringe patterns formed by multiple gratings.
-
E.
Microscopic Imager
The Microscopic Imager is a close-up camera on the Mars Exploration Rovers designed to capture detailed, microscope-like images of Martian rocks and soil to study their fine-scale textures and structures.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
microscope
ⓘ
scientific instrument ⓘ surface analysis technique ⓘ |
| achievesResolution | atomic resolution ⓘ |
| associatedWith | IBM Zürich Research Laboratory NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOn | quantum tunneling ⓘ |
| canImage |
adsorbed molecules
ⓘ
atomic-scale defects ⓘ individual atoms ⓘ |
| canMeasure |
local density of electronic states
ⓘ
surface electronic structure ⓘ work function variations ⓘ |
| enables |
construction of atomic-scale structures
ⓘ
manipulation of individual atoms ⓘ real-space imaging of surfaces ⓘ |
| hasAbbreviation | STM ⓘ |
| hasComponent |
current amplifier
ⓘ
feedback control system ⓘ piezoelectric scanner ⓘ sharp metallic tip ⓘ vibration isolation system ⓘ |
| hasMode |
constant-current mode
ⓘ
constant-height mode ⓘ spectroscopic mode ⓘ |
| inventedBy |
Gerd Binnig
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Heinrich Rohrer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| inventedInYear | 1981 ⓘ |
| measures | tunneling current ⓘ |
| oftenOperatedIn |
ambient conditions
ⓘ
cryogenic temperatures ⓘ ultra-high vacuum ⓘ |
| operatesBy |
maintaining constant tunneling current or constant height
ⓘ
scanning a tip over a surface ⓘ |
| recognizedBy | Nobel Prize in Physics 1986 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo | atomic force microscope ⓘ |
| requires |
conductive or semiconductive sample
ⓘ
conductive tip ⓘ electrical noise reduction ⓘ high mechanical stability ⓘ sub-nanometer tip–sample separation ⓘ |
| usedFor |
imaging surfaces at atomic scale
ⓘ
probing electronic properties of surfaces ⓘ studying surface structure of materials ⓘ |
| usedInField |
condensed matter physics
ⓘ
materials science ⓘ nanotechnology ⓘ surface science ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: scanning tunneling microscope Description of subject: A scanning tunneling microscope is a powerful instrument that images surfaces at the atomic scale by measuring quantum tunneling currents between a sharp conductive tip and a sample.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.