MeV-ion axial surface-channeling from an electron irradiated KCl(0 0 1) surface

Surface-channeling of protons incident with 5 mrad on an electron-irradiated surface is investigated using a 0.55 MeV beam of protons. The target surface is KCl(0 0 1), which is damaged by electron-stimulated desorption with 5 keV electron irradiation. The direction of the incident beam is adjusted along the 〈1 0 0〉 and 〈1 1 0〉 channeling conditions and the channeling-dips of the scattering yields are observed. The irradiation dose-dependence of the minimum yields and widths of the dips is measured. Two dips are compared, i.e., for the 〈1 0 0〉 and 〈1 1 0〉 channelings. By increasing the irradiation dose up to 2 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻², the dip around the 〈1 0 0〉 axis becomes opened, but that of the 〈1 1 0〉 axis becomes shallow. The irradiated surfaces are observed to have many overlapped terraces of sub-micron with monolayer steps. The surface morphology deformed by the irradiation effects to truncate trajectories of the 〈1 0 0〉 channeling protons. This roughness of the surface is more effective for the trajectories of the 〈1 1 0〉 channeling protons. The protons incident on the rough surface along the 〈1 1 0〉 axis are not reflected from the atomic row but reflected by a potential of the surface with steps. Results by a simple computer simulation of the trajectories of protons at stepped surfaces also indicate the scattering processes.     

测量和减小纳米凹凸面摩擦力的分子新技术

报道了美国用原子力显微镜可直接检测超微型设备内发动机转子与外表表面上凸点之间摩擦力的大小的研究成果，介绍了降低了时机的摩擦力的方法。     

原子力显微镜加工红外微透镜阵列的研究

提出了利用原子力显微镜灰阶阳极氧化方法加工Si、Ge、GaAs等晶体材料为基础的红外微透镜阵列.加工了3×3的红外硅微透镜阵列,微透镜的高度和表面直径重复性误差分别为0.2nm和6.0 nm,微透镜的平均曲率半径为510.8 nm.分析了原子力显微镜加工红外微透镜产生面型结构误差的原因,并提出了减小面型结构误差的方法.利用此种方法加工的折射、衍射和混合红外微透镜阵列可以进一步缩小红外成像系统的尺寸.     

Differentiation between tracks and damages in SSNTD under the atomic force microscope

We have observed three-dimensional sponge-like structures as well as strips of connecting pits on the surface of the LR 115 detector after etching, which can be confused with the small tracks formed after short etching time. We have employed an atomic force microscope (AFM) to study these “damages” as well as genuine alpha tracks for short etching time. It was found that while the track and damage openings could be similar in size and shape, the depths for the damages were consistently smaller. Therefore, the depth of the pits will serve as a clear criterion to differentiate between tracks and other damages. The ability to discriminate between genuine tracks from other damages is most important for etching for short time intervals.     

Nano-probe-assisted technology of indium-nano-dot formation for site-controlled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We have successfully and reproducibly fabricated uniform indium (In) nano-dots at a selected point. Nano-dot formation was realized using an atomic force microscope (AFM) probe with a specially designed cantilever, which was equipped with a hollow pyramidal tip with a sub-micron size aperture on the apex and an In-reservoir tank within the stylus. The In nano-dots formed in this study can be directly converted to InAs quantum dots by subsequent irradiation of arsenic flux in the molecular beam epitaxy chamber, which is connected to the AFM chamber through an ultra-high-vacuum tunnel.     

Mapping charge-mosaic surfaces in electrolyte solutions using surface charge microscopy

A significant limitation of electrokinetic measurements is that only an average value of the zeta potential/streaming potential is measured—regardless of whether the surface charge distribution is homogeneous or otherwise. However, in real-world situations, nearly all solids (and liquids) of technological significance exhibit surface heterogeneities. To detect heterogeneities in surface charge, analytical tools which provide accurate and spatially resolved information about material surface potential—particularly at microscopic and sub-microscopic resolutions—are needed.A novel AFM-based technique for mapping surface charge domains on heterogeneous surfaces, which we call Surface Charge Microscopy (SCM), was recently introduced by our research team. It relies on recording colloidal force curves over multiple locations on the substrate surface using small probes. The surface charge characteristics of the heterogeneous substrate are determined from the recorded colloidal force curves, allowing for the surface charge variation to be mapped. In this communication, we briefly review the SCM technique. Examples of results of measurements of the surface interaction forces that were recorded between a silicon nitride AFM cantilever and a multi-phase volcanic rock and heterogeneous surface of bitumen are also given.     

铁磁共振磁交换力显微镜

原子间的自旋相互作用力对原子级别磁性纳米构造体的表面磁性质的理解是极为重要的. 磁交换力显微镜是测量表面自旋作用力的重要手段, 但它的缺点一是需要加外部强磁场, 二是不能分离表面形貌和自旋信息, 这就导致材料表面受外部磁场的影响, 而且表面形貌和自旋信息之间相互影响, 使自旋间的相互作用力的检测和成像研究受到限制.为了解决上述问题, 利用原子力显微镜, 并采用微波照射的方法, 根据铁磁共振原理, 分别独立提取磁性材料表面形貌和自旋信息, 称之为铁磁共振磁交换力显微镜, 理论和实验结果表明此方法可以有效地分离两种信息. 铁磁共振磁交换力显微镜可以促进对原子级磁性材料机能的理解以及磁性相关科学领域的进步, 特别是对自旋电子元件的发展有很大的促进作用, 是新世纪高度信息化社会不可缺少的测量技术. 关键词： 原子力显微镜 磁交换力显微镜 自旋 铁磁共振     

菁染料J-聚集体的微观结构研究

用原子力显微镜观察了阴阳离子菁染料及对应的阴离子菁染料和阳离子菁染料吸附在立方体(100)和八面体(111)溴碘化银乳剂颗粒表面形成的J-聚集体的微观结构,得到了3种不同排列的J-聚集体结构。研究结果表明,菁染料分子在溴碘化银颗粒表面不是单层吸附,而是以一定的形状聚集在溴碘化银表面。阴阳离子菁染料形成的J-聚集体为"鱼骨"状;阴离子菁染料的J-聚集体以"卡片堆积"式排列;阳离子菁染料J-聚集体为"磁砖"式结构。     

One-dimensional dynamics of nano-scale oxidation

A continuum model is proposed to describe the process of scanned probe oxidation in the presence of a thin water layer on the surface of a substrate. The model describes the electric field and ion transport in both the liquid and the oxide layers and incorporates the reaction mechanism at the substrate/oxide interface. Further, the influence of the space charge due to ions trapped near the substrate/oxide interface is taken into account.Separation of time scales for the chemical reactions and ion transport as well as the asymptotic limit in terms of a small aspect ratio of the oxide layer are used to reduce the complex system of partial differential equations to a one-dimensional system of ordinary differential equations. The analytical solution of the reduced system results in the evolution equation for the oxide thickness. Numerical simulations of the evolution equation predict features of oxide growth that qualitatively agree with the experimental observations. A parametric study is conducted to determine the influence of the key operating and material parameters on the thickness of the oxide, the electric field, and ion concentration in the system.     

DNA adsorption and desorption on mica surface studied by atomic force microscopy

The adsorption of DNA molecules on mica surface and the following desorption of DNA molecules at ethanol-mica interface were studied using atomic force microscopy. By changing DNA concentration, different morphologies on mica surface have been observed. A very uniform and orderly monolayer of DNA molecules was constructed on the mica surface with a DNA concentration of 30 ng/μL. When the samples were immersed into ethanol for about 15 min, various desorption degree of DNA from mica (0-99%) was achieved. It was found that with the increase of DNA concentration, the desorption degree of DNA from the mica at ethanol-mica interface decreased. And when the uniform and orderly DNA monolayers were formed on the mica surface, almost no DNA molecule desorbed from the mica surface in this process. The results indicated that the uniform and orderly DNA monolayer is one of the most stable DNA structures formed on the mica surface. In addition, we have studied the structure change of DNA molecules after desorbed from the mica surface with atomic force microscopy, and found that the desorption might be ascribed to the ethanol-induced DNA condensation.     

Observing the effect of water vapor on post-irradiated surface morphology of SiO2 and Si3N4 insulators by atomic force microscopy

In this work, we investigated the effect of water-vapor treatment on the surface morphology of SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ insulators before and after Co⁶⁰ gamma-ray irradiation by using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) operated under non-contact mode. Before irradiation, no apparent surface morphology change was found in SiO₂ samples even they were water vapor treated. However, bright spots were found on post-irradiated water-vapor-treated SiO₂ sample surfaces but not on those without water-vapor treatment. We attributed the bright spots to the negative charge accumulation in the oxide due to charge balancing between hydroxyl (OH⁻) ions adsorbed on SiO₂ surface and electron-hole pairs (ehps) generated during irradiation since they can be annealed out after low temperature annealing process. On the contrary, no bright spots were observed on post-irradiated Si₃N₄ samples with and without water-vapor treatment. This result confirms that Si₃N₄ is a better water-resist passivation layer than SiO₂ layer.     

Investigations of C60 molecules deposited on Si(111) by noncontact atomic force microscopy

We demonstrated the high resolution imaging of the organic molecules using noncontact atomic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum. The sample was C₆₀ molecules deposited on the Si(111)-7×7 reconstructed surface. When the thickness of the C₆₀ film was submonolayer, we could image some isolated C₆₀ molecules and the reconstructed Si surface simultaneously. However, the imaging was highly unstable not only because of the large structure but also due to the large difference between the interaction forces on the molecules and on the Si surface. On the other hand, when the thickness of the C₆₀ molecules was almost monolayer, individual molecules could be stably imaged.     

Structural and surface analysis of thin-film ZnTe formed with pulsed-laser deposition

Nanosecond pulses of a Nd:YAG laser have been employed to deposit thin-film zinc telluride (ZnTe) on silicon (Si) and glass without heating these substrates. We present and discuss the structural and surface properties of films deposited at 1064 nm and 532 nm. X-ray diffraction and analysis of the surface roughness with atomic force microscopy reveal that the material texture and surface morphology depend on the ablation laser line used rather than on the substrate. The observations contribute to improved understanding of pulsed-laser deposition and provide tools to optimize the optoelectronic and photonic properties of ZnTe thin-films as well as their incorporation into Si-based technologies in order to fabricate cost-effective and functional optoelectronic devices and all-optical laser digitizer.     

Scanning tunneling microscope with long range lateral motion

We present our work on a recently built scanning tunneling microscope (STM), with coarse motion in two-dimensions. The tip of this STM can be translated a few millimeters in directions both parallel and perpendicular to the tip. This feature allows sampling of a larger area for experiments such as the study of how the electrical properties of charge density waves evolve between contacts, the proximity effect near a normal metal–superconducting interface, charge transport near the contact of a semiconductor interface, and for finding microscopically small samples like graphene. This STM is based on one of our previous one-dimensional designs. It utilizes orchestrated motion of six piezoelectric tubes in a slip–stick configuration in order to produce long range motion for the walker. This device is a single unit with a compact design making it very stable. It is stable enough to obtain atomic resolution on HOPG. It can operate in either a horizontal or vertical configuration and at cryogenic temperatures. It was designed entirely from non-magnetic materials for potential work in a magnetic field.     

Effects of the electric field shape on nano-scale oxidation

An axisymmetric continuum model for oxide growth by the scanned probe oxidation technique is presented. The model includes equations describing the electric fields, hydroxyl and hydrogen ion concentrations, and oxide free boundaries defining the system. The governing system of partial differential equations tracks ion transport in the liquid and oxide layers and includes reactions at the substrate/oxide interface. Further, space charge effects are considered near the substrate/oxide interface. Two liquid configurations, semi-infinite layer and hemispherical drop of liquid, are examined to determine the potential in the liquid region. The AFM tip is modeled as either a point or a ring source of charges. The asymptotic limit of a small aspect ratio (height to width) oxide feature is used to reduce the governing equations to a quasi-one-dimensional system to determine the ion transport. The solution of the reduced system leads to an evolution equation for the oxide thickness and radius. Numerical simulations of the evolution equation predict oxide features that qualitatively agree with experimental observations. A parametric study is conducted to determine the influence of key operating and material parameters on the thickness and radius of the oxide, and the electric and ion concentration fields in the system.     

I-V curve oscillation observed by atomic force microscopy

Oscillation on the current-voltage curve measured by atomic force microscopy is observed when the distance between the tip and sample is large enough and beyond a critical value. The appearance of the oscillation is attributed to the excitation of electron standing waves between the tip and sample. From the first peak position and the voltage difference between the first two peaks on the current-voltage curve, the value of the work function at the detected point on silver film surface and the distance between the tip and the detected point can be calculated.     

Effect of nitrogen doping on nanomechanical and surface properties of silicon film

The effect of nitrogen ion implantation on the nanomechanical properties of single crystal Si was evaluated by means of a conventional Vickers indentation and nanoindentation tests. The images of Si surfaces before and after nitrogen implantation were observed and their average surface roughnesses were measured by an atomic force microscope (AFM), while the changes in the morphology and microstructure of the single crystal Si by N implantation were examined by field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). In addition, the hydrophilic/hydrophobic surface property of the N-doping Si film was determined from the measurement of water contact angle by the sessile drop technique. Furthermore, the effects of the doping energy on the surface contact angle and the surface roughness and the Vickers hardness of the film are also investigated.     

Guidelines for the achievement of true atomic resolution with noncontact atomic force microscopy

We investigated the conditions to achieve true atomic resolution with an atomic force microscope under noncontact mode (NC-AFM). At first, we derived the equation of vertical resolution as a function of the signal-to-noise ratio and the decay length of frequency shift by assuming an exponential tip-to-sample distance dependence of frequency shift. Next, by assuming a single atom probe, we derived the equation of lateral resolution as a function of the vertical resolution and the tip-to-sample distance, from which we clarified the guidelines to achieve true atomic resolution with NC-AFM. At last, we made clear the attainable decay length of frequency shift both for the van der Waals potential and the electrostatic (Coulomb) potential.     

Imaging and tracking an electrostatic charge micro-domain by Kelvin force microscopy as evidence of water adsorption on mica surface

Muscovite mica is a widely accepted substrate for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) investigations. However, mica has intrinsic properties that alter samples and obstruct their analysis due to free charges build-up, ionic exchange and water adsorption taking place at the surface. In addition to interfacial phenomena, there is a growing interest in electrostatic charges on insulators as they are crucial in diverse applications. Despite the high demand for studies of this nature, experimental set-ups capable of resolving charge build-up at the micro-scale are still scarce and technically limited. Here, we report the imaging of surface charge dissipation on freshly cleaved mica by Kelvin-probe Force Microscopy (KPFM). A local electrostatic charge micro-domain was generated by friction between an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and mica, and its decay was tracked by two-dimensional mapping using KPFM. We found time-dependent charge dissipation, which is attributed to the adsorption of water molecules on mica surface.     

Single InAs/GaAs quantum dots: Photocurrent and cross-sectional AFM analysis

Photocurrent (PC) spectroscopy is employed to study the carrier escape from self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in a Schottky photodiode structure. As a function of the applied field, we detect a shift of the exciton ground-state transition due to the quantum-confined Stark effect (). The tunneling time, which is directly related to the observed photocurrent linewidth due to τ/(2Γ), changes by a factor of five in the photocurrent regime. The measured linewidth dependency on the electric field is modeled by a simple 1D WKB approximation for the tunneling process, which shows that the energetic position of the wetting layer is important for the measured tunneling time out of the dot. In addition to that we present cross-sectional atomic force measurements (AFM) of the investigated photodiode structure. The method needs a minimum of time and sample preparation (cleaving and etching) to obtain the dot density, dot distribution, and give an estimate of the dot dimensions. Etching only the cleaved surface of the sample opens up the opportunity to determine the properties of a buried dot layer before or even after device fabrication.