0000000000182223
AUTHOR
Sebastian Rode
Photothermal excitation setup for a modified commercial atomic force microscope
High-resolution imaging in liquids using frequency modulation atomic force microscopy is known to suffer from additional peaks in the resonance spectrum that are unrelated to the cantilever resonance. These unwanted peaks are caused by acoustic modes of the liquid and the setup arising from the indirect oscillation excitation by a piezoelectric transducer. Photothermal excitation has been identified as a suitable method for exciting the cantilever in a direct manner. Here, we present a simple design for implementing photothermal excitation in a modified Multimode scan head from Bruker. Our approach is based on adding a few components only to keep the modifications as simple as possible and …
Monolayer Structure of Arachidic Acid on Graphite
The self-assembly of arachidic acid (C(19)H(39)COOH) at the liquid solid interface between 1-phenyloctane (C(6)H(5)(CH(2))(7)CH(3)) and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to identify the structure of the monomolecular film. We observe the formation of highly ordered domains with molecules oriented in three different orientations compatible with the symmetry of the HOPG substrate, a spontaneous enantiomeric separation of the pro-chiral molecules, and reveal structural details with submolecular resolution. To determine the surface unit cell with an intrinsic calibration to the substrate atomic structure, the intermolecular distance is p…
Frequency-modulated atomic force microscopy operation by imaging at the frequency shift minimum: the dip-df mode.
In frequency modulated non-contact atomic force microscopy, the change of the cantilever frequency (Delta f) is used as the input signal for the topography feedback loop. Around the Delta f(z) minimum, however, stable feedback operation is challenging using a standard proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback design due to the change of sign in the slope. When operated under liquid conditions, it is furthermore difficult to address the attractive interaction regime due to its often moderate peakedness. Additionally, the Delta f signal level changes severely with time in this environment due to drift of the cantilever frequency f(0) and, thus, requires constant adjustment. Here, we pre…
Charge compensation by long-period reconstruction in strongly polar lithium niobate surfaces
The microscopic structure of the polar (000$\overline{1}$) and (0001) surfaces of lithium niobate is investigated by atomic-resolution frequency modulation atomic force microscopy and first-principles calculations. It is found that the surface reconstructs at annealing temperatures sufficiently high to drive off external adsorbates. In particular a ($\sqrt{7}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{7}$)$R$19.1${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ reconstruction is found for the (000$\overline{1}$) surface. Density-functional theory calculations show that---apart from the $(\sqrt{7}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{7})$---a series of adatom-induced surface reconstructions exist that lower the surfa…
Surface modification of luminescent lanthanide phosphate nanorods with cationic "Quat-primer" polymers.
"Quat-primer" polymers bearing cationic groups were investigated as a surface modifier for Tb-doped cerium phosphate green-emitting fluorescent nanorods (NRs). The NRs were synthesized by a microwave process without using any complex agents or ligands and were characterized with different analytical tools such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Poly(ethyleneimine) partially quarternized with glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride was synthesized separately and characterized in detail. (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopic studies revealed that the quaternary ammonium group was covalently attached to the polymer. UV-vis spectroscopy was used to exam…
Atomic-resolution imaging of the polar (0001¯) surface of LiNbO3in aqueous solution by frequency modulation atomic force microscopy
S. Rode,1 R. Holscher,2 S. Sanna,2 S. Klassen,1 K. Kobayashi,3 H. Yamada,3 W. G. Schmidt,2 and A. Kuhnle1,* 1Institut fur Physikalische Chemie, Fachbereich Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 11, 55099 Mainz, Germany 2Lehrstuhl fur Theoretische Physik, Universitat Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn, Germany 3Department of Electronic Science and Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan (Received 31 March 2012; revised manuscript received 12 June 2012; published 29 August 2012)
Modification of a commercial atomic force microscopy for low-noise, high-resolution frequency-modulation imaging in liquid environment.
A key issue for high-resolution frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy imaging in liquids is minimizing the frequency noise, which requires a detailed analysis of the corresponding noise contributions. In this paper, we present a detailed description for modifying a commercial atomic force microscope (Bruker MultiMode V with Nanoscope V controller), aiming at atomic-resolution frequency-modulation imaging in ambient and in liquid environment. Care was taken to maintain the AFMs original stability and ease of operation. The new system builds upon an optimized light source, a new photodiode and an entirely new amplifier. Moreover, we introduce a home-built liquid cell and sample holder …
Clear signature of the (2 x 1) reconstruction of calcite (1014).
Calcite is a mineral of fundamental importance that plays a crucial role in many fields of research such as biomineralization, biomolecule adsorption, and reactivity as well as industrial and daily life applications. Consequently, the most stable cleavage plane of calcite has been studied extensively using both direct imaging techniques such as atomic force microscopy as well as spectroscopic and diffraction techniques. Several surface structures have been reported for the (10 (1) over bar4) cleavage plane of calcite differing from the simple bulk-truncated structure and an ongoing controversy exists in literature whether the cleavage plane exhibits a (2 x 1) reconstruction or not. We study…
Thermal noise limit for ultra-high vacuum noncontact atomic force microscopy
The noise of the frequency-shift signal Δf in noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) consists of cantilever thermal noise, tip–surface-interaction noise and instrumental noise from the detection and signal processing systems. We investigate how the displacement-noise spectral density dz at the input of the frequency demodulator propagates to the frequency-shift-noise spectral density dΔf at the demodulator output in dependence of cantilever properties and settings of the signal processing electronics in the limit of a negligible tip–surface interaction and a measurement under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. For a quantification of the noise figures, we calibrate the cantilever displacemen…
Unraveling the LiNbO3 X-cut surface by atomic force microscopy and density functional theory
The ${\text{LiNbO}}_{3}$(2$\overline{1}\overline{1}0$) surface, commonly referred to as X-cut, is investigated by means of atomic force microscopy and first-principles calculations. Atomically resolved atomic force microscopy images show geometrical patterns not compatible with truncated bulk terminations. Fast Fourier transformation of the real-space images shows an oblique surface unit cell with lattice parameters of $a=0.75\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02$ nm, $b=0.54\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02$ nm, and $\ensuremath{\alpha}=94.{8}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$. Comparing these experimental results with the theoretical models of stable surface terminations provides clear evidence for the for…