Planar scanning probe microscopy – the art of low-level flight at the nanoscale

An unorthodox optical approach to scanning probe positioning is opening a realm of novel applications in various fields of research. By using optical interferometry to carefully align a sensor parallel to a sample, even millimeter-sized sensors can be brought into nanometer-scale proximity of samples. Extended circuits and massively parallel arrays of sensors can thus be used as a scanning probe, a feat that would be impossible using established sharp tips.