Search results for " Atomic Force Microscopy"

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of ultrathinFe∕Mo(110)films usingW∕Au∕Cotips

2006

We report on magnetic contrast observed in low-temperature spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) of Fe nanowires deposited on Mo(110) using tungsten tips covered by $\mathrm{Au}∕\mathrm{Co}$ thin films. Due to the spin reorientation transition of Co films on Au an out-of-plane magnetic sensitivity is obtained for tips with thin cobalt films (up to 8 monolayers of Co), while for thicker Co coverages an in-plane magnetization component can be probed. Using $\mathrm{W}∕\mathrm{Au}∕\mathrm{Co}$ tips with out-of-plane magnetic sensitivity we show that the one (ML) and two (DL) atomic layers thick Fe nanowires prepared using step flow growth on a Mo(110) crystal are perpendicularl…

Synthesis and characterisation of ordered arrays of mesoporous carbon nanofibres

2009

A facile and reproducible one-step pathway has been developed for preparing ordered arrays of mesoporous carbon nanostructures within the pores of anodized aluminium oxide (AAO) membranes, through the confined self-assembly of phenol/formaldehyde resol and amphiphilic copolymer templates. The morphology of the mesoporous carbon nanostructures can be controlled by varying the copolymer surfactant, the quantity of the resol–surfactant precursor sol used and the amount of phenol–formaldehyde resol introduced into the resol–surfactant sol. One-dimensional (1-D) carbon nanostructures, such as carbon fibres with a core–shell structure and carbon ribbons with circular mesopores running parallel to…

Conductive films of ordered nanowire arrays

2004

peer-reviewed High-density, ordered arrays of germanium nanowires have been synthesised within the pores of mesoporous thin films (MTFs) and anodized aluminium oxide (AAO) matrices using a supercritical fluid solution-phase inclusion technique. Conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) was utilised to study the electrical properties of the nanowires within these arrays. Nearly all of the semiconductor nanowires contained within the AAO substrates were found to be conducting. Additionally, each individual nanowire within the substrate possessed similar electrical properties demonstrating that the nanowires are continuous and reproducible within each pore. C-AFM was also able to probe the co…

Achieving high effectiveQ-factors in ultra-high vacuum dynamic force microscopy

2010

The effective Q-factor of the cantilever is one of the most important figures-of-merit for a non-contact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM) operated in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). We provide a comprehensive discussion of all effects influencing the Q-factor and compare measured Q-factors to results from simulations based on the dimensions of the cantilevers. We introduce a methodology to investigate in detail how the effective Q-factor depends on the fixation technique of the cantilever. Fixation loss is identified as a most important contribution in addition to the hitherto discussed effects and we describe a strategy for avoiding fixation loss and obtaining high effective Q-factors in the forc…

Nanoscale structural and electrical properties of graphene grown on AlGaN by catalyst-free chemical vapor deposition

2020

The integration of graphene (Gr) with nitride semiconductors is highly interesting for applications in high-power/high-frequency electronics and optoelectronics. In this work, we demonstrated the direct growth of Gr on Al0.5Ga0.5N/sapphire templates by propane (C3H8) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at temperature of 1350{\deg}C. After optimization of the C3H8 flow rate, a uniform and conformal Gr coverage was achieved, which proved beneficial to prevent degradation of AlGaN morphology. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) revealed Ga loss and partial oxidation of Al in the near-surface AlGaN region. Such chemical modification of a 2 nm thick AlGaN surface region was confirmed by cross-sec…

Application of electrochemical impedance for characterising arrays of Bi2S3 nanowires

2015

Abstract Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) was used to characterise the electrical properties of bismuth sulphide (Bi2S3) nanowires (NWs) templated within anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membranes. A specially engineered cell, with a nominal electrolyte volume of 0.1–0.2 ml, was used to hold and measure the electrochemical impedance of the fragile NW/AAO samples. An equivalent circuit model was developed to determine the filling density of nanowires within the porous templates. The EIS method can be utilised to probe the nanowire filling density in porous membranes over large sample areas, which is often unobtainable using electron microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy t…

Atomic-resolution imaging of clean and hydrogen-terminated C(100)-(2×1)diamond surfaces using noncontact AFM

2010

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…

Electronic structure of MgO-supported Au clusters: quantum dots probed by scanning tunneling microscopy.

2007

We investigate via density functional theory (DFT) the appearance of small MgO-supported gold clusters with 8 to 20 atoms in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) experiment. Comparison of simulations of ultrathin films on a metal support with a bulk MgO leads to similar results for the cluster properties relevant for STM. Simulated STM pictures show the delocalized states of the cluster rather than the atomic structure. This finding is due to the presence of s- derived delocalized states of the cluster near the Fermi energy. The properties of theses states can be understood from a jellium model for monovalent gold.

Atomic Structure and Mechanical Behaviour of Passive Film Formed on Stainless Steels

1995

Aluminum oxide nucleation in the early stages of atomic layer deposition on epitaxial graphene

2020

In this work, the nucleation and growth mechanism of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in the early stages of the direct atomic layer deposition (ALD) on monolayer epitaxial graphene (EG) on silicon carbide (4H-SiC) has been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. Contrary to what is typically observed for other types of graphene, a large and uniform density of nucleation sites was observed in the case of EG and ascribed to the presence of the buffer layer at EG/SiC interface. The deposition process was characterized by Al2O3 island growth in the very early stages, followed by the formation of a continuous Al2O3 film (2.4 nm thick) after only 40 ALD cycles due to the isla…