IBM has been pushing the boundaries of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) all this year. In February we learned that IBM Zurich had imaged the charge distribution within a molecule for the first time.  Then the same team in May not only imaged individual hydrogen atoms but also manipulated them with the use of AFM.

After having established new boundaries for AFM, IBM scientist Leo Gross and his colleagues next set out to apply these tools. What they’ve developed is a method, using AFM, for distinguishing individual molecular bonds.The researchers believe that being able to image these individual bonds could prove critical in studying graphene devices, with potential applications in high-bandwidth wireless communication and electronic displays. [read more..]