0000000000289383

AUTHOR

Ants Lõhmus

Probing of nanocontacts inside a transmission electron microscope

In the past twenty years, powerful tools such as atomic force microscopy have made it possible to accurately investigate the phenomena of friction and wear, down to the nanometer scale. Readers of this book will become familiar with the concepts and techniques of nanotribology, explained by an international team of scientists and engineers, actively involved and with long experience in this field. Edited by two pioneers in the field, 'Fundamentals of Frictions and Wear at the Nanoscale' is suitable both as first introduction to this fascinating subject, and also as a reference for researchers wishing to improve their knowledge of nanotribology and to keep up with the latest results in this …

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Electron beam induced growth of silver nanowhiskers

Abstract In this paper we report an electron beam induced rapid (up to several tens of nm/s) growth of silver nanowhiskers from silver nanowire networks coated with TiO 2 by sol–gel method. Different growth conditions are tested and it is demonstrated that growth is optimal for samples with the film thickness in the range 50–200 nm and previously annealed at 400 °C for 5–10 min. Growth mechanism is attributed to cooperative effect of several factors including diffusion of Ag into TiO 2 matrix during annealing, electromigration of Ag atoms caused by strong electric field, and presence of mechanical stresses at interfaces enhanced by thermal expansions due to local heating under e-beam illumi…

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Real-time measurements of sliding friction and elastic properties of ZnO nanowires inside a scanning electron microscope

Abstract A real-time nanomanipulation technique inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used to investigate the elastic and frictional (tribological) properties of zinc oxide nanowires (NWs). A NW was translated over a surface of an oxidised silicon wafer using a nanomanipulator with a glued atomic-force microscopic tip. The shape of the NW elastically deformed during the translation was used to determine the distributed kinetic friction force. The same NW was then positioned half-suspended on edges of trenches cut by a focused ion beam through a silicon wafer. In order to measure Young’s modulus, the NW was bent by pushing it at the free end with the tip, and the interaction f…

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Force interactions and adhesion of gold contacts using a combined atomic force microscope and transmission electron microscope

Force interactions and adhesion of gold contacts using a combined atomic force microscope and transmission electron microscope

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In situ measurement of the kinetic friction of ZnO nanowires inside a scanning electron microscope

Abstract A novel method for measuring the kinetic friction force in situ was developed for zinc oxide nanowires on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and oxidised silicon wafers. The experiments were performed inside a scanning electron microscope and used a nanomanipulation device as an actuator, which also had an atomic force microscope tip attached to it as a probe. A simple model based on the Timoshenko elastic beam theory was applied to interpret the elastic deformation of a sliding nanowire (NW) and to determine the distributed kinetic friction force.

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Shape restoration effect in Ag-SiO2 core-shell nanowires.

The combination of two different materials in a single composite core–shell heterostructure can lead to improved or even completely novel properties. In this work we demonstrate the enhancement of the mechanical properties of silver (Ag) nanowires (NW) achieved by coating them with a silica (SiO2) shell. In situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) nanomechanical tests of Ag–SiO2 core–shell nanowires reveal an improved fracture resistance and an electron-beam induced shape restoration effect. In addition, control experiments are conducted separately on uncoated Ag NWs and on empty SiO2 shells in order to gain deeper insight into the peculiar properties of Ag–SiO2. Test conditions are simulate…

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Real-time manipulation of gold nanoparticles inside a scanning electron microscope

Abstract The forces needed to overcome static friction and move 150 nm diameter Au nanoparticles on an oxidized Si substrate were measured in Normal and Shear oscillation modes inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in real time. The experimental setup consisted of a quartz tuning fork (QTF) mounted onto a high-precision 3D nanomanipulator used with a glued silicon or tungsten tip as a force sensor. Static friction was found to range from tens of nN to several hundred nN. Large variations in static friction values were related to differences in particle shape. Kinetic friction tended to be close to the detection limit and in most cases did not exceed several nN. The influence of therma…

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