RF-STM speeds probe scanning enormously

Scanning Tunneling Microscopes (STM) are capable of imaging lateral distances as small as 1 angstrom and can measure changes in height as small as 0.1 angstrom.

Researchers have found that by adding an external radio frequency (RF) source to the STM setup that they could measure the resistance at the tunneling junction by examining the characteristics of the wave that gets reflected back to the RF source. With knowledge of the junction resistance, the researchers can much more easily deduce the distance between the tip and the surface allowing for 100 to 1000 fold increase in measurement speeds. The researchers who developed this technique have dubbed their modified method as RF-STM.

See arstechnica, original research article in Nature.