Construction of molecular beam epitaxy and multi-probe scanning tunneling potentiometry combined system.

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is a powerful technique to grow high quality thin films with atomic precision, and multiprobe scanning tunneling potentiometry (STP) is an ideal tool to probe electronic transportation in nanometer scale. We combine the two advanced techniques together and successfully construct a unique system of MBE, STP, and four-probe in situ transport measurement. Excellent functions of this system have been demonstrated by experiments on several materials under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The system provides an ideal platform for in situ study of electronic transport properties of various thin films, such as two-dimensional superconductors and topological insulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]