0000000000205321
AUTHOR
Wolfgang Harneit
Atomic-resolution imaging of clean and hydrogen-terminated C(100)-(2×1)diamond surfaces using noncontact AFM
Received 22 April 2010; published 14 May 2010High-purity, type IIa diamond is investigated by noncontact atomic force microscopy NC-AFM .Wepresent atomic-resolution images of both the electrically conducting hydrogen-terminated C 100 - 2 1 :Hsurface and the insulating C 100 - 2 1 surface. For the hydrogen-terminated surface, a nearly square unitcell is imaged. In contrast to previous scanning tunneling microscopy experiments, NC-AFM imaging allowsboth hydrogen atoms within the unit cell to be resolved individually, indicating a symmetric dimer alignment.Upon removing the surface hydrogen, the diamond sample becomes insulating. We present atomic-resolutionimages, revealing individual C-C dim…
Electron-driven spin diffusion supports crossing the diffusion barrier in MAS DNP
Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) can be applied to enhance the sensitivity of solid-state NMR experiments by several orders of magnitude due to microwave-driven transfer of spin polarization from unpaired electrons to nuclei. While the underlying quantum mechanical aspects are sufficiently well understood on a microscopic level, the exact description of the large-scale spin dynamics, usually involving hundreds to thousands of nuclear spins per electron, is still lacking consensus. Generally, it is assumed that nuclear hyperpolarization can only be observed on nuclei which do not experience strong influence of the unpaired electrons and thus being significantly removed from the paramagneti…
High-precision measurement of the electron spin g factor of trapped atomic nitrogen in the endohedral fullerene N@C60
Abstract The electronic g factor carries highly useful information about the electronic structure of a paramagnetic species, such as spin-orbit coupling and dia- or paramagnetic (de-)shielding due to local fields of surrounding electron pairs. However, in many cases, a near “spin-only” case is observed, in particular for light elements, necessitating accurate and precise measurement of the g factors. Such measurement is typically impeded by a “chicken and egg situation”: internal or external reference standards are used for relative comparison of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) Larmor frequencies. However, the g factor of the standard itself usually is subject to a significant uncerta…
Frequency-agile gyrotron for electron decoupling and pulsed dynamic nuclear polarization.
We describe a frequency-agile gyrotron which can generate frequency-chirped microwave pulses. An arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) within the NMR spectrometer controls the microwave frequency, enabling synchronized pulsed control of both electron and nuclear spins. We demonstrate that the acceleration of emitted electrons, and thus the microwave frequency, can be quickly changed by varying the anode voltage. This strategy results in much faster frequency response than can be achieved by changing the potential of the electron emitter, and does not require a custom triode electron gun. The gyrotron frequency can be swept with a rate of 20 MHz/μs over a 670 MHz bandwidth in a static magnetic …
A diamond (1 0 0) surface with perfect phase purity
Abstract Diamond surfaces with (1 0 0) orientation and perfect phase purity regarding the coexistence of sp3 and sp2 bonding as well as near surface nitrogen implanted layers are repeatedly produced from one sample by a cycle of nitrogen implantation, etching in oxygen and wet chemical etching. Comprehensive surface studies carried out by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) involving a deconvolution of the C 1s peak into contributions of C sp3, C sp2 and C sp3(N) reveal the surface and near-surface phase and stoichiometry. It is demonstrated that efficient etching of nitrogen implanted diamond occurs by high temperature annealing in oxygen and a wet chemical treatment.
Stability of C60 and N@C60 under thermal and optical exposure
N@C60, a nitrogen atom encapsulated in a fullerene shell, has an electron-nuclear spin system with outstanding coherence properties attractive for quantum computation. The stability of this molecule is known to be limited due to thermal escape of the nitrogen atom from the C60 cage but little is known about the stability towards optical excitation, which is one possible tool for an indirect scheme to manipulate and read out quantum information. Here, we report the results of a systematic study regarding thermal and optical effects on the stability of N@C60. The central result is that stability under intense laser irradiation can be obtained when the sample remains cooled below a certain tem…
Influence of charge transfer doping on the morphologies of C60islands on hydrogenated diamond C(100)-(2×1)
The adsorption and island formation of C${}_{60}$ fullerenes on the hydrogenated C(100)-($2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$):H diamond surface is studied using high-resolution noncontact atomic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum. At room temperature, C${}_{60}$ fullerene molecules assemble into monolayer islands, exhibiting a hexagonally close-packed internal structure. Dewetting is observed when raising the substrate temperature above approximately 505 K, resulting in two-layer high islands. In contrast to the monolayer islands, these double-layer islands form extended wetting layers. This peculiar behavior is explained by an increased molecule-substrate binding energy in the case of…