Low energy electron microscopy and photoemission electron microscopy investigation of graphene

Low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) are two powerful techniques for the investigation of surfaces, thin films and surface supported nanostructures. In this review, we examine the contributions of these microscopy techniques to our understanding of graphene in recent years. These contributions have been made in studies of graphene on various metal and SiC surfaces and free-standing graphene. We discuss how the real-time imaging capability of LEEM facilitates a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of dynamic processes, such as growth and intercalation. Numerous examples also demonstrate how imaging and the various available complementary measurement capabilities, such as selected area or micro low energy electron diffraction (μLEED) and micro angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (μARPES), allow the investigation of local properties in spatially inhomogeneous graphene samples.     

Fourier-transform sum-frequency surface vibrational spectroscopy with femtosecond pulses

We present a Fourier-transform spectroscopic technique for investigation of surfaces and interfaces based on IR-visible sum-frequency generation with femtosecond light pulses. The observed spectrum has a resolution that is independent of the input pulse characteristics.     

Boundary slip on smooth hydrophobic surfaces: intrinsic effects and possible artifacts

We report an accurate determination of the hydrodynamic boundary condition of simple liquids flowing on smooth hydrophobic surfaces using a dynamic surface force apparatus equipped with two independent subnanometer resolution sensors. The boundary slip observed is well defined and does not depend on the scale of investigation from one to several hundreds of nanometers, nor on shear rate up to 5 x 10(3)s(-1). The slip length of 20 nm is in good agreement with theory and numerical simulations concerning smooth nonwetting surfaces. These results disagree with previous data in the literature reporting very high boundary slip on similar systems. We discuss possible origins of large slip length on smooth hydrophobic surfaces due to their contamination by hydrophobic particles.     

Deposition of Aerosol Nanoparticles on Flat Substrate Surfaces

The deposition process in a homogeneous electric field, and the subsequent microscopic arrangement of charged, metallic aerosol nanoparticles in the size range of 30 nm on flat substrate surfaces is described. The first aspect of the investigation is the transfer of the particles from a three-dimensional distribution in the gas phase into their arrangement on the substrate surface, in dependence on particle-particle interactions and on Brownian motion. The theoretical results obtained with a trajectory model are compared with experimental results obtained by scanning electron microscope investigation of the deposition patterns. The second aspect of the investigation is the nanostructured arrangement of nanoparticles by means of inhomogeneous electric microfields. We demonstrate a parallel process for the transfer of charge patterns on oxidized silicon surfaces followed by the deposition of monodisperse singly charged nanoparticles, which allows the creation of particle arrangements reaching from 100 nm resolution up to structures in the upper micrometer range. The charge patterns are transferred using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-stamp, which is covered with a metal layer.     

Bonding and dynamics of surface systems probed by soft X-rays

We review some aspects of the investigation of surface systems with soft X-rays. Examples are presented, showing how core level spectroscopies provide detailed information on the structure, bonding and chemistry of adsorbates and thin layers on surfaces. Core level spectroscopies employed at high brilliance synchrotron light sources allow furthermore access to electron dynamics in the attosecond domain, as we demonstrate for the core hole clock method.     

HEAT TRANSFER AND PRESSURE DROP FROM LOUVERED SURFACES IN AUTOMOTIVE HEAT EXCHANGERS

An investigation of heat transfer and pressure drop from some louvered surfaces is presented. The test rig and the measuring as well as the data evaluating procedures are described. The measured data are transferred and presented in a nondimenswnal form. The heal transfer data are provided mainly as Stanton numbers versus Reynolds number, and the pressure drop is given as Darcy friction factors versus Reynolds number. For comparing the performance of the various louvered surfaces, the flow area goodness factors and the so-called volume goodness factors are presented. All the louvered surfaces have been found to be more efficient than the corresponding smooth surface. The standard multilouvered fin surfaces were found to be most efficient, but one of the new surfaces also performed very well.     

The scattering of thermal He atoms at ordered and disordered surfaces

The use of thermal energy atom scattering (TEAS) as a surface investigation tool is reviewed. Specific properties of thermal He scattering, which are particularly advantageous in surface analysis, are discussed; the main causes which hampered so far the broad application of this technique to the investigation of ordered surfaces are analysed. The recent development of TEAS based on the exploitation of the large cross section for He diffuse scattering of adsorbates and vacancies is reviewed. This development extends the capabilities of TEAS to a straightforward investigation of various aspects of disordered surfaces so far hardly accessible to other methods. Examples concerning the lateral distribution of adsorbates and defects, the mutual attraction and repulsion, 2D-phase transitions, mobility and surface diffusion are given.     

Producing ultra-thin silica coatings on iron-oxide nanoparticles to improve their surface reactivity

The reactivity of the relatively inert surfaces of iron-oxide magnetic nanoparticles can be significantly improved by coating the surfaces with silica. Unfortunately, however, this nonmagnetic silica layer tends to dilute the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles. Therefore, the silica layer should be as continuous, homogeneous, and as thin as possible.In this investigation we coated superparamagnetic maghemite nanoparticles by hydrolysis and the polycondensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), with the ethanol solution of TEOS being added to a stable suspension of citric acid-coated nanoparticles. The influences of the various parameters of the procedure on the quality of the coatings were systematically evaluated. The quality of the silica layer was characterized using electron microscopy and by performing leaching of the nanoparticles in HCl, while the surface reactivity was tested by grafting (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APS) onto the nanoparticles. We observed that the surface concentration of the grafted APS strongly increased when the nanoparticles were coated with a silica layer. The choice of experimental conditions for the coating procedure that favors the heterogeneous nucleation of silica on the surfaces of the nanoparticles enabled the preparation of very thin silica layers, less than 2 nm thick. By decreasing the amount of added TEOS to correspond to a monolayer of -Si-OH at the nanoparticles' surfaces, their surface reactivity could be very much improved, and with a reduction in their magnetization of only ∼10%.     

Surface mediated control of droplet density and morphology on GaAs and AlAs surfaces

We present a comparative study of gallium (Ga) and aluminium (Al) droplets fabricated on GaAs (100) and AlAs (100) surfaces. Higher density of Ga droplets is achieved on AlAs surface compared with GaAs surface. Similarly, the density of Al nanostructures is higher on AlAs surface than on GaAs surface, even though different morphologies are obtained on each surface. Further, while uniform Ga droplets are formed on both GaAs and AlAs surfaces, Al rings and dots, with big inhomogeneity, are observed on GaAs and AlAs surface, respectively. This investigation suggests that size and shape of nanostructures grown by the droplet epitaxy method can be designed by employing different surfaces. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Magnons in a square bar

We present a theoretical investigation of magnon excitations within a simple cubic, ferromagnetic crystal bar of square cross section formed by the intersection of [100] surfaces. The eigenfrequency spectrum for spin waves in the bulk, and localized at the surfaces and edges of the bar is obtained and examined in the presence of dipolar, and nearest and next nearest neighbor exchange spin-spin interactions, for values of the one-dimensional wavevector extending form the origin to the boundary of the one-dimensional Brillouin zone for the bar. The modes obtained are wavelike in the direction parallel to the bar axis. The localization of the modes is determined from an examination of their eigenvectors.     

Origin of high oxide to nitride polishing selectivity of ceria-based slurry in the presence of picolinic acid

We report on the investigation of the origin of high oxide to nitride polishing selectivity of ceria-based slurry in the presence of picolinic acid.The oxide to nitride removal selectivity of the ceria slurry with picolinic acid is as high as 76.6 in the chemical mechanical polishing.By using zeta potential analyzer,particle size analyzer,horizon profilometer,thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,the pre-and the post-polished wafer surfaces as well as the pre-and the post-used ceria-based slurries are compared.Possible mechanism of high oxide to nitride selectivity with using ceria-based slurry with picolinic acid is discussed.     

Interaction kinetics of atoms and molecules on carbon nanotube surfaces

We review recent experimental investigations of the interaction of gases with the surface of single-wall carbon nanotube bundles. We discuss thermal desorption spectra of both non-polar and polar adsorbates for low and high coverage. We show experimental results for diffusion processes of Xe along and within carbon nanotube bucky paper material, which is consistent with a recently proposed coupled desorption diffusion (CDD) model. We further discuss details of the interaction of ammonia with carbon nanotube surfaces, including the experimental investigation of the influence of adsorbed ammonia on the electrical transport properties of carbon nanotubes under ultra-high vacuum conditions.     

Emissvity of metallic microcontoured surfaces

In this paper, we study the diffraction of electromagnetic radiation by a periodic micro-rough surface separating vacuum from a metal with a finite conductivity. We submit the integral method to the surface impedance boundary condition. Thus the numerical implementation is greatly reduced. We compare the numerical emissivities obtained by this approach to those we have calculated through the rigorous multilayer modal method. This enables us to show that the mentioned approximate method has two regions of validity: one corresponding to fairly flat surfaces and the other to very deep surfaces. It is well known that both the Kirchhoff approximation and the constant flat boundary impedance approximation are also valid for fairly flat surfaces. Our investigation aims also to establish whether these two approximate methods lead to the same results, and whether the integral method submitted to the surface impedance condition has a larger domain of validity. Concerning deep surfaces with a period smaller than the wavelength, we introduce the homogenization process in order to study its accuracy.Finally, this work permitted to identify three different regimes depending on the surface slopes: the simple scattering regime, the homogenization regime and the intermediate regime. For the latter, if the period is in the order of the wavelength, then we will show that the emissivity can be exalted.     

Chemical surface analysis by Raman spectroscopy utilizing dimer vibrations

We report on the investigation of reconstructed semiconductor surfaces by Raman spectroscopy from dimer vibrations. Localized modes of Te dimers on the (100) surface of the zinc blende II-VI semiconductor BeTe allow the analysis of Te- and Be-rich surface structures, as well as oxidation effects. The Te-rich surface exhibits one dimer-vibration mode at 165 cm(-1), while two modes appear at the Be-rich surface (157 and 188 cm(-1)). The mode assignment as dimer vibrations is underscored by their symmetry properties and by frozen phonon calculations, yielding mode frequencies and eigenvectors. This approach opens up a new field of surface chemistry analysis by dimer-vibration spectroscopy.     

Bubbles under stress

We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of a system composed of two soap bubbles strained between two parallel solid surfaces. The two-bubble cluster can be found in several configurations. The existence and stability of each of these states is studied as a function of the distance between the two facing surfaces. The change of this distance can induce a transition from one configuration to another; we observe that most transitions are subcritical, showing that the system is often trapped in states where the minimum of free energy is only local. The hysteretic transitions are responsible for the dissipation of elastic energy. The existence of more than one stable states for given boundaries conditions combined with the absence of thermalization means that the history of the system has to be taken into account and that there is no unique stress-strain relation. In the present system, because of its simplicity, a complete quantitative analysis of these general processes is obtained. The presented results may contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of more complex systems such as foams or granular materials where similar processes are at work.     

New quasi-planar surfaces of bare boron

New very stable quasi-planar clusters of bare boron are found by systematic ab initio density functional and quantum chemical methods. They are composed of dove-tailed hexagonal pyramids different from the classical forms of - or β-rhombohedral boron crystallines. The quasi-planar structures are considered to be fragments of quasi-planar surfaces, which can easily be obtained and constructed from a basic unit of hexagonal pyramids. A new investigation on double layers of boron quasi-planar surfaces shows an increase in the stability of the system which can be related to the overlap of π-orbitals between the layers. Therefore, we predict the existence of a series of parallel boron layers, as in graphite. These proposed surfaces can serve as lightweight protective armor, as a neutron-absorber material in fission reactions, or as very high temperature semiconductors.