Surface science was revolutionized in 1982 by the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) by Binnig and Rohrer who received the Nobel prize only 4 years later in 1986 [1]. Shortly after the invention, the first images showing atomic resolution on a Si(111) 7 7 surface were obtained. As this allowed real space imaging of atomic structure, it gave a new turn on nanotechnology research. By means of its working principle, namely the quantum mechanical tunneling current, the STM is inherently limited to the study of conducting surfaces. In 1986, the invention of the atomic force microscope (AFM) solved this limitation by using a tip supported by a.
