A reverse pendulum bath cryostat design suitable for low temperature scanning probe microscopy

A new low temperature, ultrahigh vacuum cryostat design has been developed for atomic force and scanning tunnelling microscopy measurements. A microscope can be operated at 5 K in ultrahigh vacuum. The microscope body is thermally connected to a reverse pendulum and completely surrounded by a radiation shield. The design allows in situ dosing and irradiation of the sample as well as for easy access of tip and sample. The temperature performance and the vibrational properties of the reverse pendulum design are demonstrated in detail. A brief overview of low temperature instrumentation in scanning probe microscopy is given