Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Using Tomoauto: A Protocol for High-throughput Automated Cryo-electron Tomography
Published on: January 30, 2016
Atom-by-atom assembly
1Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S Cass Ave., Lemont, IL 60661,USA. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
Abstract:
Atomic manipulation using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip enables the construction of quantum structures on an atom-by-atom basis, as well as the investigation of the electronic and dynamical properties of individual atoms on a one-atom-at-a-time basis. An STM is not only an instrument that is used to 'see' individual atoms by means of imaging, but is also a tool that is used to 'touch' and 'take' the atoms, or to 'hear' their movements. Therefore, the STM can be considered as the 'eyes', 'hands' and 'ears' of the scientists, connecting our macroscopic world to the exciting atomic world. In this article, various STM atom manipulation schemes and their example applications are described. The future directions of atomic level assembly on surfaces using scanning probe tips are also discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Protein Complex Assembly
Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures
Genome Annotation and Assembly
Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...
Assembly of Cytoskeletal Filaments

