The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is among a number of instruments that allows scientists to view and manipulate nanoscale particles, atoms, and small molecules. Its development earned its inventors, Gerd Binig and Heinrich Rohrer, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986.
Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) gather information by "feeling" the surface with a mechanical probe. Gerd Binig, along with Calvin Quate and Christoph Gerber, developed the first AFM in 1986.
Atomic force microscope
Atomic Force Microscope
These microscopes make use of tiny but exact movements to enable precise mechanical scanning.