Robert J. Bradbury writes:
> I was amazed that during the depths of the Russia's financial
> disassembly a few years ago I heard about a couple of scientists,
> I believe at Moscow State University, who had assembled an AFM.
You can build an AFM from ~2 k$ worth of hardware. Much less, if you're willing to work a lot. Nowadays, it's almost a science fair project.
Last time I visited the MSU phys guys they were using the latest Nanoscopes.
> [If anyone knows more, I'd be interested in details.] It basically
> demonstrated to me that clever people with minimal resources
> will be able to develop these tools.