Seeing is Believing: Atoms, Molecules, Exotic Electrons

In this talk, I will briefly overview my development of SPM microscopes and subsequent research on force mapping, sub-molecular resolution, and atomic manipulation. I will particularly focus on measurements quantifying the energy to move an atom. I will then discuss exotic electron systems, beginning with an introduction to hot-electron stability and catastrophe in InAs nano-wires and topologically protected states in a weak topological insulator. This will be followed with preview of data taken on a putative topological insulator, BiTeCl, before ending with some recent analysis on peculiar observations of Graphene's Dirac electrons.