New Type of Atomic Microscope On the Way

Iddo Genuth writes "Researchers at the Surface Science Laboratory at Universidad Autonoma de Madrid have created an ultrasmooth mirror that could be used to create a revolutionary new atomic microscope within the next several years. The new atomic microscope — using helium atoms for imaging — has the potential to provide the same resolution as existing electron microscopes but without many of the problems which have plagued them for years."

Comments

Wait.... aren't we out of helium?

[zappepcs]

http://mailman.mcmaster.ca/mailman/private/cdn-nucl-l/0712/msg00004.html or did we find more to use in microscopes and other things, like balloons?

Already done

[Firehed]

My father has been working with Helium Ion Microscopes for a few years now - not the same as helium atoms of course, but the goals are the same (avoiding damage to the sample, improved resolution, firing a single concentrated beam of atoms instead of spewing electrons, etc). And they're... beta. Improving, but decidedly beta.

Pardon my ignorance but...

[kmarshallbanana]

What exactly are the problems that have plagued electron microscopes for years?