compareeHub

YOU CAN 3D PRINT A MICROSCOPE THAT SEES INDIVIDUAL ATOMS

A desktop machine that images individual carbon atoms on graphite, built from printed parts and a piezo scanner.

by MechRedPanda

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

ScienceOpen-hardware

Built withTeensy3D printing

difficulty
●●●●●
time
several weekends
license
None (no licence published)
repo
repo ACTIVE329 stars

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Videos
1
Jump to section

COMPAREE VERDICT

This is a genuine scanning tunneling microscope: a sharp tungsten tip held within a few angstroms of a conductive surface, measuring the quantum tunneling current to map atoms. Its twist is that the main structure is FDM 3D-printed, with a piezo unimorph disk scanner and a Teensy 4.1 running the scan. The repo gives you Fusion 360 CAD, PCB files for the pre-amp and control board, firmware and Python software, but no written build guide and no BOM yet. The creator's YouTube video is the overview. The hard parts are vibration isolation, tip preparation, and the patience to get a stable tunnel junction without crashing the tip. If you have never worked with piezo actuators or sub-nanoamp currents, expect a learning curve. The reward is genuine atomic resolution on graphite, the standard test sample because it is cheap, flat and conductive. This is a real instrument, not a weekend novelty.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • —Complete Fusion 360 CAD for the STM body and the vibration isolation platform.
  • —No bill of materials yet. The creator lists it as future work, so you work out parts from the schematics, PCB files and video.
  • —C++ firmware for a Teensy 4.1 (PlatformIO project) and Python software with a GUI for control and image processing.
  • —There is no written step-by-step build guide. The creator points to his YouTube overview video, and the repo has CAD, PCB files, firmware and software. The tip is sharp tungsten wire.
  • —No licence is published in the repository, so reuse and commercial rights are not granted. Ask the creator before redistributing or selling builds.
  • —PCB design files for the pre-amplifier and control board are included (Altium, EasyEDA and PDF exports).

Parts to buy

6 items

From our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.

  • Piezoelectric unimorph disks for the scannerFind
  • Tungsten wire for the tipFind
  • Teensy 4.1Find
  • Custom pre-amplifier and control PCBs and their componentsfrom the repo files
  • Graphite sample (HOPG recommended)Find
  • Hardware for the vibration isolation platformfrom the repo files

BUILDS OF THE WEEK

Five open-source builds worth your weekend, every week.

Checked like this one: what’s really in the repo, what it costs, how hard it is. One email, unsubscribe anytime.

Can I build this?

PrintMain body, scanner parts and vibration isolation platform. Export them from the Fusion 360 model in the repo (no ready STLs are published).
BuyPiezoelectric unimorph disks for the scanner, tungsten wire for the tip, a Teensy 4.1, the custom pre-amplifier and control PCBs and their components, a graphite sample (HOPG recommended), and hardware for the vibration isolation platform.
Tools3D printer, soldering iron for the pre-amp and control boards, multimeter, an oscilloscope (helpful for debugging), and a way to make sharp tungsten tips (Dan Berard's write-up describes tip making).
SkillsAdvanced — requires careful assembly, basic electronics (op-amp circuits, low-noise design), tip preparation, and significant patience for tuning. Prior experience with precision instruments or analog electronics will help.
TimePlan for several weekends: printing and assembly take a weekend, electronics another, and the first successful atomic image may take several more sessions of tip conditioning and vibration troubleshooting.
CostHigh budget — piezo disks, a Teensy 4.1, the pre-amplifier and control PCBs with precision components, tungsten wire and vibration-isolation hardware; there is no BOM or published cost yet.

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

Videos

More builds like this

All projects
You can build the probe a drone drops into an Arctic fjord - and unlike the commercial one, it comes backScienceThe Enactive Torch: an open-source device that turns distance into touchScienceYou can build an open-source algae photobioreactor with a built-in fluorometerScience

Gallery

Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Read the README and watch the creator's YouTube overview video. There is no written build guide, so study the CAD, PCB files and firmware before you order parts. (There is no written build guide; the README points to the creator's overview video and to Dan Berard's home-built STM write-up, which this design is based on.)
  2. 2.Watch the creator's overview video and study the CAD and PCB files to work out the piezo disks and electronics before you order.(There is no BOM yet, so identify the piezo disks and electronic parts from the video, the CAD and the PCB files (and from Dan Berard's write-up); substitutions may change the driver voltages.)
  3. 3.Print the main body and test-fit the piezo mount before assembling the electronics — any misalignment here will ruin your scan stability.(The Fusion 360 source file is provided, so you can adjust tolerances if your printer runs loose or tight.)

KNOWN ISSUES

  • The single biggest trap: buying a cheaper piezo scanner or substituting parts without understanding the voltage and capacitance requirements — the scan linearity and stability depend on matched components.
  • Vibration isolation is not optional — the design hangs the scan platform on three long tension springs with magnetic (eddy-current) damping; if you skip it or run the head straight on a desk, you will see only noise, and footsteps in the next room can ruin a scan.
  • Tip preparation is a skill, not a recipe — the repo does not document it, so learn it from Dan Berard's write-up and expect to make several tips.
  • The first approach will almost certainly crash the tip into the surface. Have spare tungsten wire and expect to prepare several tips while learning the feedback loop.
  • Graphite samples must be freshly cleaved (tape method) to expose a clean surface — old or dirty graphite will not give atomic resolution no matter how good your tip is.
  • The pre-amplifier handles sub-nanoamp currents. Order the provided PCBs rather than improvising, keep leads short, and use a grounded metal enclosure or electrical noise will swamp the tunneling current.

Can this really see individual atoms, or is that marketing?

The repository shows the creator's images of graphite with the hexagonal pattern of carbon atoms. STMs have done this since the 1980s; this build makes it accessible, but getting there takes careful tip preparation and vibration isolation.

Why graphite and not other materials?

Graphite is conductive, atomically flat when cleaved, cheap, and air-stable — it is the standard beginner sample. Metals and semiconductors are possible but require better vibration isolation and surface preparation.

Do I need a clean room or vacuum chamber?

No — this is an air STM, which is why graphite works (it does not oxidize quickly). You do need a quiet room away from foot traffic and HVAC vents.

What if I cannot get platinum-iridium wire?

The design itself uses a sharp tungsten tip. Platinum-iridium oxidizes less in air, but it is not what the creator used, and there is no written guide comparing the two.

How do I know if my tip is sharp enough?

You cannot tell by looking — the test is whether you can establish a stable tunnel junction. If the feedback loop oscillates or you see no features at atomic scale, make a new tip (the creator cuts 0.25 mm tungsten wire at an angle while pulling) and try again.

Community builds

No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.

Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

A 3D-printed frame, a piezo disk scanner, a tungsten tip and a Teensy — and the repo shows atoms on graphite. With no parts list yet, would you start from this repo or from Dan Berard's original write-up?

CompareeTEAM2mo agoedited

Practical notes from our verification: the repository has Fusion 360 CAD of the STM body and vibration isolation platform, PCB files for the pre-amplifier and control circuit (Altium, PDF and EasyEDA), Teensy 4.1 firmware, and a Python GUI for control and image processing. What it does not have yet is a bill of materials — the README lists it under Future Work as coming soon — or a step-by-step build tutorial; the creator points to an overview video instead and credits Dan Berard's home-built STM as the main inspiration, whose write-up is worth reading alongside it. There is also no licence file in the repository, so reuse rights are not granted by default. The hardest part is not in the files: it is preparing a sharp tungsten tip and getting a stable tunnelling current with a 3D-printed piezo disk scanner. The README itself says this is experimental and needs a strong understanding of STM, electronics and 3D printing — a real learning project, not a weekend novelty. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.

MechRedPanda

Mechanical Panda (Mech RedPanda) is a maker who publishes on Bilibili and YouTube. He based this design on Dan Berard's home-built STM and calls it the first STM to use FDM 3D-printed parts as its main structure.

GitHub

Star the project on GitHub

DISCLAIMER

  • Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
  • Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
  • Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
GitHub repo