Search results for "probe"
showing 10 items of 534 documents
Force interactions and adhesion of gold contacts using a combined atomic force microscope and transmission electron microscope
2002
Force interactions and adhesion of gold contacts using a combined atomic force microscope and transmission electron microscope
Self-assembly of Organic Molecules on Insulating Surfaces
2015
Molecular self-assembly is known to provide a powerful tool for creating functional structures, with the ultimate structure and functionality encoded in the molecular building blocks. Upon molecule deposition onto surfaces, functional structures have been created ranging from defect-free, highly symmetric two-dimensional layers to complex assemblies with dedicated functionality. Especially organic molecules play a key role for molecular self-assembly due to their impressive structural flexibility and the high degree of control by chemical synthesis. Furthermore, the surface itself provides another exciting dimension: adjusting the subtle balance between intermolecular and molecule-surface i…
Correlative atomic force and confocal fluorescence microscopy: single molecule imaging and force induced spectral shifts (Conference Presentation)
2016
A grand challenge in nanoscience is to correlate structure or morphology of individual nano-sized objects with their photo-physical properties. An early example have been measurements of the emission spectra and polarization of single semiconductor quantum dots as well as their crystallographic structure by a combination of confocal fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.[1] Recently, the simultaneous use of confocal fluorescence and atomic force microscopy (AFM) has allowed for correlating the morphology/conformation of individual nanoparticle oligomers or molecules with their photo-physics.[2, 3] In particular, we have employed the tip of an AFM cantilever to apply c…
Sensor response time evaluations of trace hydrogen gaseous species with platinum using Kelvin Probe
2012
Kelvin Probe (KP), a non-contact, non-destructive vibrating capacitor device, was used to measure the work function (WF) difference of thin Pt films, deposited on oxidized silicon substrates, with highly diluted H 2 gas, in ppm levels, in the presence of with and without relative humidity (RH). Response times were extracted from the behavior of WF shift as a function of H 2 concentration values. Measurements were compared for zero and non-zero RH conditions at a fixed temperature of 30°C. Changes in WF were evaluated by using HP VEE program, suitably modified for the present measurements. The events were executed step by step for every second time interval through an input formatted file. T…
Micro-Raman characterization of graphene grown on SiC(000-1)
2014
Graphene (Gr) was grown on the C face of 4H-SiC under optimized conditions (high annealing temperatures ranging from 1850 to 1950°C in Ar ambient at 900 mbar) in order to achieve few layers of Gr coverage. Several microscopy techniques, including optical microscopy (OM), ?Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) have been used to extensively characterize the lateral uniformity of the as-grown layers at different temperatures. ?Raman analysis provided information on the variation of the number of layers, of the stacking-type, doping and strain.
Unraveling the LiNbO3 X-cut surface by atomic force microscopy and density functional theory
2014
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…
An Investigation of the Energy Levels within a Common Perovskite Solar Cell Device and a Comparison of DC/AC Surface Photovoltage Spectroscopy Kelvin…
2017
We present a study of the energy levels in a FTO/TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Spiro solar cell device. The measurements are performed using a novel ambient pressure photoemission (APS) technique alongside Contact Potential Difference data from a Kelvin Probe. The Perovskite Solar Cell energy band diagram is demonstrated for the device in dark conditions and under illumination from a 150W Quartz Tungsten Halogen lamp. This approach provides useful information on the interaction between the different materials in this solar cell device. Additionally, non-destructive macroscopic DC and AC Surface Photovoltage Spectroscopy (SPS) studies are demonstrated of different MAPBI3 device structures to give an indic…
Reversible switching of the Au(111) work function by near infrared irradiation with a bistable SAM based on a radical donor–acceptor dyad
2019
We describe the modification of the work function (WF) of Au(111) upon deposition of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with two donor–acceptor (D–A) systems, one based on a ferrocene-polychlorotriphenylmethyl radical (Fc–PTM) dyad and another on its non-radical dyad analogue. Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) has been used to measure the changes in the Contact Potential Difference (CPD) between the tip and the SAM under application of a cycling sweep of direct current (DC) voltage bias. These measurements showed that both SAMs exhibit a hysteretic behaviour in their WF changes. Interestingly, the hysteresis loop of the radical SAM is notably reduced when irradiated with NIR light, which w…
Local Time-Dependent Charging in a Perovskite Solar Cell
2016
Efficient charge extraction within solar cells explicitly depends on the optimization of the internal interfaces. Potential barriers, unbalanced charge extraction, and interfacial trap states can prevent cells from reaching high power conversion efficiencies. In the case of perovskite solar cells, slow processes happening on time scales of seconds cause hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics. In this work, we localized and investigated these slow processes using frequency-modulation Kelvin probe force microscopy (FM-KPFM) on cross sections of planar methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI) perovskite solar cells. FM-KPFM can map the charge density distribution and its dynamics at intern…
Measurements of tunneling conduction to carbon nanotubes and its sensitivity to oxygen gas
2012
We have measured the conductive properties of junctions between carbon nanotubes (CNT) and non-noble metals $M$ ($M$ = Al, Ti, Nb), which are separated by the native oxide (${M}_{\mathit{OX}}$) of the metal. Reproducible and asymmetric current-voltage characteristics were obtained from Ti/Ti${}_{\mathit{OX}}$/CNT and Nb/Nb${}_{\mathit{OX}}$/CNT junctions, while Al/Al${}_{\mathit{OX}}$/CNT exhibited no current until breakdown, which is attributed to the larger bandgap of Al${}_{\mathit{OX}}$. The conduction in the Ti- and Nb-based junctions is not due to direct tunneling since they exhibit strong temperature dependence. The presence of oxygen is shown to drastically, but reversibly, modify t…