Magnetic resonance force microscopy

Dan Rugar at IBM used magnetic resonance force microscope (MRFM) technology in the summer of 2004 to detect the signal from a single electron spin (Rugar et al., 2004). This marked a turning point for microscopy since John Sidles invented the MRFM method in the early 1990s (Sidles, 1991). MRFM fills one of the most fundamental gaps in the tools we have for determining the structure of systems and materials with nuclear detection and mapping coordinates at the atomic scale. This article discusses some history of this microscopy, the unique features of the microscope, and the software and hardware necessary for its success.