An implementation of drift compensation for imaging at the nanoscale is presented. The method is based on computer vision techniques and hence applicable to any microscope that generates images through a computer interface. The algorithm extracts and matches pairs of feature points from consecutive images to compute and compensate for probe–sample misalignments over time. The protocol also applies selection rules that enable it to withstand significant changes in image contrast. We demonstrate our fully automatic implementation by continuously imaging the same area of a Si(100) surface at the atomic scale with scanning probe microscopy over a period of 25 h at room temperature, showing that the method is robust even under the presence of non-linear drift or spontaneous changes of the probe apex. We apply our method to study the movement of pairs of tin atoms confined within a half-unit cell of the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface and estimate the energy barrier for their diffusion at room temperature.

We investigated the oxidation of oxygen vacancies at the surface of anatase TiO2(001) using a supersonic seeded molecular beam (SSMB) of oxygen. The oxygen vacancies at the top surface and subsurface could be eliminated by the supply of oxygen using an SSMB. Oxygen vacancies are present on the surface of anatase TiO2(001) when it is untreated before transfer to a vacuum chamber. These vacancies, which are stable in the as-grown condition, could also be effectively eliminated by using the oxygen SSMB.

We present an automation system for conditioning an SPM probe into different states on a Si(111)-(7×7) surface at room temperature. Topography images representing multiple surface states and probe condition states divided into 11 categories and trained by a convolution neural network (CNN) with an accuracy of 87% were used to estimate the effectiveness of the probe with an accuracy of 98%. We demonstrate the responsiveness of the method by experimentally reforming a probe into different conditions defined by preset categories. This system will promote advancements in autonomous SPM experiments at atomic scale and room temperature.