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 …
Studies of the initial oxidation of cobalt in alkaline solutions using scanning electrochemical microscope
Studies of the initial oxidation of cobalt in alkaline solutions using scanning electrochemical microscope
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
The synthesis of matrices of embedded semiconducting nanowires.
In this work we report how single crystal nanowires can be assembled into regular arrays using mesoporous thin films to define the architecture. Mesoporous thin films were prepared by a sol-gel method. These provide films of very regular structure and dimensions. The films produced in this way have almost single crystal like structures and can also exhibit strong epitaxy to the underlying silicon substrate. The films are subjected to a supercritical fluid (SCF) environment in which a precursor is decomposed to yield nanowires of metals, semiconductors or oxides. Using these SCF conditions, pore filling is complete and the products are nanowires which are single crystals and structurally ali…
Magnetic nanoparticles between electrodes of tunnel junction: anomalous tunnel conductance
Abstract Magnetic particles of microscopic size can be created in the process of Ni, Fe and Co mechanically controllable break junctions fabrication and trapped between the electrodes by magnetic dipole forces. Tunneling between the protruding nanoparticle and the sample electrode shows clear distinctions from the usual junctions: heavy deviation of the current–distance I(z) dependence from the expected exponential behavior at electrode separations z below 4.0– 4.5 A and on numerous occasions a sudden jump-like decrease of the tunnel current at z≈1.5– 2.0 A . Possible mechanisms behind observed anomalies including the short-range magnetic exchange coupling are discussed.
Maxwell and Sharvin conductance in gold point contacts investigated using TEM-STM
We have investigated the conductance of gold point contacts using a scanning tunneling microscope ~STM! inside a transmission electron microscope ~TEM!. Measuring the conductance of these point contacts as a function of radius, we could directly compare it with theories both in the ballistic regime ~Sharvin! as well as in the diffusive regime ~Maxwell!. The width of the contacts were between a single atom and 20 nm. Using an interpolation formula ~Wexler! between the two limits, we obtain a mean free path of 4 nm, which is about ten times shorter than the room-temperature bulk value. The low value indicates an enhanced scattering, which is not due to high temperature in the point contact, i…
<title>Metallic and semiconducting nanowires: properties and architectures</title>
Nanowires are expected to play an important role in future electronic, optical devices and nanoelectromechanical devices. Measuring the electrical and mechanical properties of nanowires is however a difficult task due to their small dimensions. Here we report the use of an in-situ microscopy technique, which combines transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with scanning probe microscopy (SPM), to investigate the electrical and mechanical properties of metallic and semiconductor nanowires. Additionally, in this paper we describe a novel approach for synthesizing mesoporous silicas with tunable pore diameters, wall thickness and pore spacings that can be used as tempates for the assembly of se…
Preparation and properties of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 thin films
Anex situ process has been developed to produce thin superconducting Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 films. The properties of films grown on different substrates using different annealing regimes were studied. Critical temperatures of 103–107 K were measured on films prepared in a broad range of annealing temperatures on SrTiO3, LaAlO3, and Y-ZrO2 substrates. A critical current density,Jc, of 2×106 A/cm2 at 77 K was measured on LaAlO3. Film morphology was studied by SEM, AFM, and STM.