Tomorrow’s Tech Treepowered by Astra

Nanotechnology · Recorded milestone

Atomic force microscope

Recorded year1986

A sharp tip feels surfaces atom by atom, even on insulators and cells.

Explore this milestone on the interactive map

Built on

Integrated circuitRecorded · 1958requires
Scanning tunnelling microscopeRecorded · 1981enables

Led to

DNA origamiRecorded · 2006enables

Sources & evidence

Additional source

Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.