Gerd Binnig

Gerd Binnig was born on July 20, 1947, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He studied physics at the University of Frankfurt, where he earned his diploma in 1973 and his doctorate in 1978. His doctoral thesis was on superconductivity, a field that would later influence his work on microscopy.

In 1978, Binnig joined the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory in Switzerland. There, he collaborated with Heinrich Rohrer to develop a new type of microscope that could image surfaces with atomic resolution. The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) works by scanning a sharp metal tip very close to a conductive surface and measuring the tunneling current that flows between them. This current is extremely sensitive to the distance between the tip and the surface, allowing the STM to map the surface's topography with sub-nanometer precision.

The STM was completed in 1981 and quickly proved revolutionary. It not only imaged individual atoms but also allowed scientists to manipulate them, leading to the field of nanotechnology. For this invention, Binnig and Rohrer were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986, sharing it with Ernst Ruska, who designed the electron microscope.

In 1986, Binnig, along with Calvin Quate and Christoph Gerber, invented the atomic force microscope (AFM). Unlike the STM, the AFM does not require a conductive surface; it measures the force between a sharp tip and the sample, allowing imaging of insulators and biological molecules. The AFM has become a versatile tool in materials science, biology, and nanotechnology.

Binnig left IBM in 1994 to found a company called Definiens, which developed software for image analysis and data mining, applying principles from physics to medical diagnostics and other fields. He also held a professorship at the University of Munich. In 2007, he returned to IBM as a research fellow, focusing on novel computing concepts.

Beyond his famous inventions, Binnig has a few lesser-known facets. He has a passion for art and music, and he once said that his scientific creativity is influenced by his artistic side. He also developed a concept called the 'Binnig triangle', which describes the interplay between theory, experiment, and simulation in science.

Binnig's early work on superconductivity influenced his approach to the STM; he used superconducting materials in the STM's tip to enhance resolution. Additionally, he holds over 20 patents, including one for a 'scanning near-field optical microscope' that he co-invented in the 1990s.

In 2016, Binnig was awarded the Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts, a prestigious German order. He has also been a vocal advocate for interdisciplinary research, often collaborating with biologists and chemists.

Scanning tunneling microscope (STM)

A microscope that uses a sharp conducting tip to scan a surface, measuring the tunneling current to image atoms.

Atomic force microscope (AFM)

A microscope that measures forces between a tip and a sample to image surfaces, including non-conductive ones.

Tunneling current

A current that flows when electrons pass through a potential barrier, as in quantum tunneling.