How to spy on your neighbour(ing atoms)

Atomic-scale microscopy has been a game changer for advancing materials science over the last century, from identifying and manipulating crystal structures to watching molecules move in real-time. Many physicists and engineers are not aware of the complex and fascinating design decisions that go into the creation of each microscope, which can lead to suboptimal usage, misunderstood results, and a missed opportunity to better appreciate the equipment. In this talk, I will discuss key physics principles that go into one of the most common types of atomic-resolution microscopes, the atomic force microscope (AFM). I will contextualise all of these concepts by relating them to the novel, low-temperature, high-vacuum AFM that I re-designed and re-built specifically to measure the electrostatic properties of dopant qubits buried in silicon.