Monolayers of graphite rotated by a defined angle: hexagonal superstructures by STM

Received: 27 March 1998     

Investigation of the (111) surface of P-doped Si by scanning tunneling microscopy

Received: 27 March 1998     

Evaluation of structural and adhesive properties of nylon 6 and PTFE alignment films by means of atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become a powerful technique for submicron investigation of surface properties. In this work we use the capability of this technique to investigate dielectric films used to align ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC). In fact, the final performance of a surface stabilized FLC (SSFLC) flat panel display strongly depends on the alignment layer properties and quality. This work focuses on a comparison of two alignment films: the more conventional polyamide, nylon 6, and polytetrafluoroethilene (PTFE, commercially known as Teflon), only recently used as a new aligning material. A micromorphological characterization of the sample surfaces has been carried out in order to correlate structure with alignment properties of both polymer films. The results show varying roughness and periodicity wavelengths for the two alignment layers. These different properties can be related to different anchoring forces between aligning surfaces and FLC molecules and therefore to a different electrooptical response of SSFLC cells. In addition to the topographic characterization, AFM non-conventional measurements have been performed on alignment layers deposited on different transparent conductive oxides, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and SnO₂, used to make electrodes in SSFLC displays. These measurements provide local information on the adhesive properties of the studied alignment materials as a function of substrate coating. These observations indicate less adhesion of PTFE with respect to nylon 6. Received: 16 April 2000 / Accepted: 16 April 2000 / Published online: 13 September 2000     

Force spectroscopy on single xanthan molecules

Received: 3 July 1998 / Published online: 10 February 1999     

Atomic force microscopy of photochemistry and the Baeyer–Villiger reaction of 4,4′-dimethylbenzophenone in the solid state

Nanostructures are formed by photodimerization of crystalline 4,4^′-dimethylbenzophenone (1) through intermolecular hydrogen abstraction and Baeyer–Villiger reaction of 1 with m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (MCPBA) (5) in the solid state. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveals that the crystal face (001) of 1 during photodimerization exhibits volcanoes, whereas the same face (001) of 1 yields both craters and volcanoes all over the surface from the contact edge of the crystals during the Baeyer–Villiger reaction. All the experimental results are correlated with the bulk crystal structure. Molecular interpretation of the AFM features of 1 is given. Received: 18 April 2000 / Revised version: 26 July 2000; accepted: 27 July 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000     

Dynamics and stability of nanostructures on metal surfaces

Ultrathin metal films consisting of two-dimensional clusters are typically unstable: the cluster ensemble has the tendency to reduce its total free energy via Ostwald ripening or dynamic coalescence of mobile clusters. In this paper we give an overview of recent model experiments addressing these coarsening mechanisms. The experiments have been performed using STM on ensembles consisting of adatom or vacancy clusters with typical diameters in the nanometer range on fcc(111)-metal surfaces. Agreement with and deviations from conventional theories are discussed. Received: 29 March 1999 / Accepted: 17 August 1999 / Published online: 30 September 1999     

STM-study of triangular defect structures induced on WSe2

With short voltage pulses, applied between sample and tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope, it is possible to generate a variety of defects on the surface of layered transition metal dichalcogenides. In the case of WSe₂ triangular holes can be induced with a depth of a single Se-W-Se layer that grow in lateral size during scanning. We present measurements of the time evolution of the growth and its dependence on parameters of the scanning process. Furthermore, we draw attention to the peculiar shape of the edges of such triangles where several distinct rims are found. As a possible interpretation we suggest that these are caused by an oscillating workfunction or density of states due to electron interference.     

Field enhancement of optical radiation in the nearfield of scanning probe microscope tips

Received: 8 April 1997/Accepted: 23 June 1997     

CO2 and C2H4 grafting to the native defects of ion-bombarded porous silica

• )₄, though it is expected to relax via formation of peroxidic bridges), and the oxygen-bridge vacancy (which in the absence of relaxation can be described as a diradical center (≡Si^•)₂– the E^′′ center). These radicals react with the residual atmosphere according to completely new pathways: the bombardment in a CO₂ atmosphere results in the formation of ester-like and carboxylate groups, stable up to 500 °C at least, inserted in the SiO₂ network at the oxygen-bridge vacancies. The bombardment in a C₂H₄ atmosphere results in more complex configurations: the oxygen-bridge vacancy reacts at room temperature with ethylene forming a Lewis adduct which, after heating at 500 °C, presumably reverts to a -CH₂-CH₂- bridge in between silicon atoms; the silicon-link vacancy likely reacts with C₂H₄ forming CH₃CHO. These conclusions, based on experimental data (mainly infrared spectroscopy), are also supported by extended quantum mechanical calculations (density-functional methods and ab initio molecular dynamics). Received: 6 March 1998/Accepted: 21 September 1998     

Transfer of Au Cusp-clusters on Si(111) 7×7 surfaces from a pure Au tip of a scanning tunneling microscope

Received: 16 August 1996/Accepted: 6 March 1997     

Thickness-dependent magnetic domain structures of ultrathin Co/Au(111) films studied by means of magnetic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum

Received: 10 December 1997/Accepted: 11 December 1997     

Atomic force microscopy study of lymphoblastoid cells under 50-Hz 2-mT magnetic field irradiation

Received: 18 December 1997/Accepted: 5 January 1998     

Characterization of laser-ablated and chemically reduced silver colloids in aqueous solution by UV/VIS spectroscopy and STM/SEM microscopy

Silver colloids in aqueous solution were studied by different scanning microscopy techniques and UV/VIS spectroscopy. The silver colloids were produced either by chemical reduction or by nanosecond laser ablation from a solid silver foil in water. Variation of laser power and ablation time leads to solutions of metal clusters of different sizes in water. We characterized the electronic absorption of the clusters by UV/VIS spectroscopy. STM (scanning tunneling microscope) imaging of the metal colloids shows atomic resolution of rod- or tenon-like silver clusters up to 10-nm length formed by laser ablation. Our scanning electron microscope measurements, however, show that much larger silver colloids up to 5-μm length are also formed, which are not visible in the STM due to their roughness. We correlate them with the long-wavelength tail of the multimodal UV/VIS spectrum. The silver colloids obtained by chemical reduction are generally larger and their electronic spectra are red-shifted compared to the laser-ablated clusters. Irradiation of the colloid solution with nanosecond laser pulses of appropriate fluence at 532 nm and 355 nm initially reduced the colloid size. Longer irradiation at 355 nm, however, leads to the formation of larger colloids again. There seems to be a critical lower particle size, where silver clusters in aqueous solution become unstable and start to coagulate. Received: 24 June 2002 / Revised version: 25 July 2002 / Published online: 25 October 2002 RID="*" ID="*"This work is part of the thesis of H. M?ltgen RID="**" ID="**"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-211/811-5195, E-mail: kleinermanns@uni-duesseldorf.de     

True atomic resolution under ambient conditions obtained by atomic force microscopy in the contact mode

2 ) has been investigated by contact-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air. Both the terraces and the monolayer step itself were reproducibly imaged at atomic resolution in the repulsive-force regime at forces between tip apex and sample of the order of 10^-9 N. Several kinks were also imaged at atomic resolution. Details of the atomic registry of subsequent Se-Nb-Se sandwich layers as well as the arrangement of the individual atoms at the kink sites were resolved. The results are in perfect quantitative agreement with the lattice structure known from X-ray analysis and indicate that true atom-by-atom lateral resolution of microscopic defects is feasible by AFM in the contact mode and under ambient conditions. Published online: 10 February 1999     

Simultaneous observation of atomic step and domain wall structure of ultrathin Co films by magnetic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum

We have applied magnetic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum to study the correlation between the atomic step and magnetic domain wall structure of ultrathin Co films prepared in situ on Au(111) substrates. For the first time we were able to achieve high-resolution images showing simultaneously a clear domain wall contrast and the underlying atomic step structure. Although for in-plane magnetized Co films the domain walls were found to run preferentially in a direction perpendicular to the steps, no such correlation could be observed for out-of-plane magnetized Co films. Received: 3 June 1999 / Accepted: 4 June 1999 / Published online: 29 July 1999     

AFM, a tool for single-molecule experiments

Received: 27 March 1998     

Magnetostatic interaction studied by force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum

3 (FeGe)₅ O₁₂ magnetic garnet, Co/Pt multilayer sample and the high coercivity BaFe₁₂O₁₉ single crystal. We have prepared in UHV by electron beam evaporation magnetic sensors/tips which allowed us to reach high sensitivity and high resolution of our microscope. Ideal UHV conditions (pressure 5×10^-11 \text{Torr}) helped us to observe domain wall contrast on all of studied samples by using a dynamic mode of operation of the force microscope. Received: 28 October 1996/Accepted: 5 November 1996     

Steps,facets and nanostructures: investigations of Cu (11n) surfaces

Step structure and dynamics and adsorbate-induced reconstruction of stepped surfaces are useful features for investigating fundamental surface phenomena and their practical consequences. In this respect, vicinal Cu (11n) surfaces with n=3, 5 and 9 were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at 300 K. While the regular monoatomic steps fluctuate for Cu (119), they are apparently stabilized for n≤5 by their strong repulsive interaction and this leads to a very low kink activity. In addition to the regular steps, the formation of double steps was observed as a particular phenomenon on those surfaces. These double steps determine the dynamic behavior at room temperature. By applying existing models for the fluctuations of the step positions in space and time, the formation energy for kinks at these double steps was determined to be 0.16 eV for Cu (115). According to this evaluation, diffusion along step edges is the dominating mass-transport mechanism. A model for the structure of the double steps and for the atomic displacement processes necessary for kink migration at these steps is presented. Complete faceting is observed for these surfaces upon oxygen adsorption at elevated temperatures (around 500 K) and was studied in detail for n=5 and 9. Both surfaces reconstruct into two types of {104} facets and a third facet, the orientation of which is determined by the macroscopic crystal orientation. The facet size is governed by the formation kinetics and can be controlled by varying the crystal temperature or the oxygen partial pressure. The formation kinetics is discussed as a nucleation and growth process and the relevant parameters are given. Facets within a range of size between 5 nm and 100 nm could thus be produced. They remained stable at ambient atmosphere, up to about 620 K, and also if covered by additional metal layers such as Ni. Received: 1 June 2001 / Accepted: 23 July 2001 / Published online: 3 April 2002     

Low-load friction behavior of epitaxial C60 monolayers

We report on¹³C MAS NMR experiments in the low temperature phase of Rb₁C₆₀. Two different lines are observed with line shifts of 110 ppm and 50 ppm. The line at 50 ppm is a signature ofsp ³ carbons and can be interpreted in terms of a hypothetical polymerization along the crystallographica-axis. This supports a quasi 1 D structure of the A₁C₆₀ in the low temperature phase.