Scanning force microscopy : Close to absolute zero

Since its invention in 1986, the scanning force microscope has developed into an instrument that is widely used in science and industry for the imaging of surfaces. It can be used under a wide range of conditions, for example in a liquid, in an ultra-high vacuum, in magnetic fields and also at low temperatures to measure forces of very different chemical and physical natures. Dr Hans Josef Hug, professor at the University of Basel and Head of Empa's Surfaces, Coatings and Magnetism Laboratory is, together with his team of scientists, applying the latest know-how to questions in areas of fundamental research. In doing so they are finding solutions to problems encountered in, for example, data storage technology.