22Chair for Quantum Nanoscience, Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg, Germany Abstract “The atom” Franz J. Giessibl [1] E. Courtens, J. Pelous, J. Phalippou, R. Vacher, T. Woignier, Phys. Rev. Lett., 58, 128 (1987). [2] H. Melville, Moby-Dick, Harper and Brothers, New York (1851). [3] F. J. Giessibl, MRS Bulletin, https://rdcu.be/dGhgQ (2024). NIMS Award Winnign LectureA few weeks after starting a one year abroad study of physics and mathematics in the late summer of 1985 at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, I heard rumors that in the nearby IBM Research Laboratory Rüschlikon, a new type of microscope had been invented that was capable to “see” atoms. Following a proven habit, I spent my semester breaks working in outstanding laboratories, so I applied at the IBM laboratory with a hand-written letter asking for a job in the next break. The reply suggested two projects: a) Performing X-ray crystallography on oxides with Georg Bednorz, who later won a Nobel Prize together with Karl-Alex Müller for finding oxide based high temperature superconductors. B) Improving a six-pass tandem Fabry-Perot Interferometer with Eric Courtens such that it could resolve the tiny Brillouin scattering signals of fractons - eigenvibrations of silica aerogels [1]. I chose the second project, because I loved lasers and optics at that time and I had already done X-ray scattering on crystals at the Technical University of Munich. Eric was happy with my work and recommended me to Gerd Binnig, who was on a sabbatical at Stanford at the time. Shortly before Binnig won the 1986 Nobel Prize for Physics with Heinrich Rohrer for the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), shared with Ernst Ruska, he inspired me to finish my master degree quickly and offered to join him for a PhD thesis. He suggested three possible projects: 1. Sequencing DNA by STM; 2. Designing a tunneling detector that could measure gravity waves; 3. Improving the newly introduced atomic force microscope (AFM) such that it could resolve atoms. I chose project 3 and it has kept my life full of challenges, joy, frustrations and breakthroughs up to this day. The AFM can resolve conductors and insulators alike, so it is an incredibly useful tool for materials science and many other branches of science and technology. Imaging “the atom” has turned into a life-long passionate journey with similarities to captain Ahab’s quest for Moby Dick [2]. This journey might look utterly random, turning from an industrial research lab to a Stanford spinoff company, to management consultant McKinsey and back to academia at the Universities of Augsburg and Regensburg and revealing its captivating logic only towards the end [3].
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