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We present an ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV)-sealed high-stability scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) that can be entirely immersed in liquid helium and readily used in a commercial Dewar or superconducting magnet. The STM head features a horizontal microscanner that can become standalone and ultrastable when the coarse approach inertial motor retracts. Low voltage is enough to operate the STM even at low temperature owing to the powerful motor. It is housed in a tubular chamber of 49 mm outer diameter, which can be pumped via a detachable valve (DV), UHV-sealed and remain sealed after the DV is removed. The entire so-sealed chamber can then be inserted into liquid helium, where in situ sample cleavage is done via vacuum bellow. This allows sample cleavage and STM measurements to take place in better UHV with higher cooling power. Quality atomic resolution images of graphite and charge density wave on 1T-TiSe taken in ambient and 14 K conditions, respectively, are presented.

A novel micro-machined biosensor based on the resonant torsional paddle with electromagnetic excitation which can work in liquid directly is presented. The sensor designed consists of two paddles with resonant torsional mode, in which the energy loss of the resonator during the vibration is so lower that it can be suitable for detection in liquid. Finite element method analysis was carried out to guarantee the sensitivity of the sensor. Micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) bulk silicon processes were adopted to accomplish the fabrication. A positive-feedback circuit with energy compensation is designed to improve the characteristics of the sensor in liquid. Experiments show that the resonant torsional paddle can work directly in liquid and the Q-factor of the sensor in liquid can be improved from 2.65 to 40 with energy compensation. Viscosity tests and density tests for the sensor show that the decrease in frequency and the decrease in Q-factor are related to density and viscosity of the solutions, respectively.