Maximum entropy deconvolution of AFM and STM images

The Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) has been applied successfully to the deconvolution of images obtained by Atomic Force (AFM) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) using a NanoScope III system. The images have been taken on graphite (STM) and NaCl (AFM) substrates. Image processing has been performed running the Cambridge MaxEnt Fortran 77 library MEMSYS-5 on an IBM RISC 6000/360. Among the possible hypotheses the optimal solution was selected using the standard entropy method. ICF and response function have been generated artificially to fit the correlation of physical structures for atomically resolved images. Comparison of MEM and FFT revealed, that the main advantage of MEM is its ability to reproduce atomic defects on regular structures, whereas FFT deconvolution tends to eliminate these perturbations.