Effect of titanium powder assisted surface pretreatment process on the nucleation enhancement and surface roughness of ultrananocrystalline diamond thin films

A superior, easy and single-step titanium (Ti) powder assisted surface pretreatment process is demonstrated to enhance the diamond nucleation density of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films. It is suggested that the Ti fragments attach to silicon (Si) surface form bond with carbon at a faster rate and therefore facilitates the diamond nucleation. The formation of smaller diamond clusters with higher nucleation density on Ti mixed nanodiamond powder pretreated Si substrate is found to be the main reason for smooth UNCD film surface in comparison to the conventional surface pretreatment by only nanodiamond powder ultrasonic process. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study ascertains the absence of SiC on the Si surface, which suggests that the pits, defects and Ti fragments on the Si surface are the nucleation centers to diamond crystal formation. The glancing-incidence X-ray diffraction measurements from 100 nm thick UNCD films evidently show reflections from diamond crystal planes, suggesting it to be an alternative powerful technique to identify diamond phase of UNCD thin films in the absence of ultra-violet Raman spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure and transmission electron microscopy techniques.     

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.     

Measurement of non-DLVO force on a silicon substrate coated with ammonium poly(acrylic acid) using scanning probe microscopy

The repulsive force originating from steric hindrance of polymers in aqueous solvent was investigated using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The contact angle (CA) of ammonium poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) solution on the Si surface was measured to estimate the state of the Si substrate. Results of CA measurement show that the Si surface was fully covered with PAA at 0.1 mass% in aqueous solution. The interaction force between the Si tip and the wafer was estimated using the SPM force curve mode. The force curve measured in the ion-exchanged purified water showed the typical relation predicted by Derjaguin-Landau-Verway-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. However, the force curve shape in the 0.1 mass% PAA solution was significantly different. Only a repulsive force was observed at less than about 4 nm of separation distance between the Si wafer and cantilever tip. This distance originated from the steric repulsions of PAA adsorbed onto the Si wafer and cantilever tip.     

Magnesium-Free Immobilization of DNA Origami Nanostructures at Mica Surfaces for Atomic Force Microscopy

DNA origami nanostructures (DONs) are promising substrates for the single-molecule investigation of biomolecular reactions and dynamics by in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). For this, they are typically immobilized on mica substrates by adding millimolar concentrations of Mg²⁺ ions to the sample solution, which enable the adsorption of the negatively charged DONs at the like-charged mica surface. These non-physiological Mg²⁺ concentrations, however, present a serious limitation in such experiments as they may interfere with the reactions and processes under investigation. Therefore, we here evaluate three approaches to efficiently immobilize DONs at mica surfaces under essentially Mg²⁺-free conditions. These approaches rely on the pre-adsorption of different multivalent cations, i.e., Ni²⁺, poly-l-lysine (PLL), and spermidine (Spdn). DON adsorption is studied in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and pure water. In general, Ni²⁺ shows the worst performance with heavily deformed DONs. For 2D DON triangles, adsorption at PLL- and in particular Spdn-modified mica may outperform even Mg²⁺-mediated adsorption in terms of surface coverage, depending on the employed solution. For 3D six-helix bundles, less pronounced differences between the individual strategies are observed. Our results provide some general guidance for the immobilization of DONs at mica surfaces under Mg²⁺-free conditions and may aid future in situ AFM studies.     

Vibrational properties of graphene and graphene layers

The phonon dispersions of graphene and graphene layers are theoretically investigated within fifth‐nearest‐neighbor force‐constant approach. Based on their symmetry groups, the number of Raman‐ and infrared‐active modes at the Γ point is given. Interatomic force constants are recalculated by fitting them to experimental phonon energy dispersion curves. Wavenumbers of optically active modes are presented as a function of number of layers (n). Our calculated results reproduce well the experimental data of G peak for graphene (1587 cm⁻¹) and graphite (1581.6 cm⁻¹) and clearly give the relation that ω_G = 1581.6 + 11/(1 + n^1.6). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超短脉冲激光对硅膜的热力效应分析

为了研究超短脉冲激光辐照下半导体材料的热力效应,在热电子崩力和自洽场两种模型的基础上,得到了完全耦合的非线性热弹方程组。在单轴应力条件下,采用有限差分法,讨论了不同脉宽的超短脉冲激光辐照下,硅膜内载流子温度、晶格温度、热应力以及热电子崩力随时间及膜深度的变化情况。结果表明,脉冲宽度对硅膜的热力损伤过程起重要作用。能量密度一定时,载流子和晶格达到热平衡所需时间随脉冲宽度的增加而增加;热电子崩力呈现明显的双峰结构,同时脉冲宽度对第二个峰值的影响较大;脉宽越窄,热应力的峰值越大,越容易对材料造成损伤,为激光加工和光电器件的损伤提供了理论参考。     

湿斜压热动力耦合强迫激发辐合增长和暴雨维持的一种机制

打破将散度演化分析局限于水平动力学框架内的传统认识思维,针对大气的斜压性与层结特征将对大气运动散度场演化产生显著影响的事实,从湿斜压原始方程出发,将大气的斜压热力作用通过热力学方程引入散度方程,在替换平衡近似（alternative balance）下,导出了显式包含湿非地转Q矢量与垂直风切变耦合强迫作用的新型散度方程.阐明了潮湿大气中非地转斜压强迫激发散度场演化的物理机制,为利用常规观测资料诊断散度场演化提供了一种有效的数学工具.通过对流层中低层气柱内总体辐合增长影响因子的分 关键词： 暴雨天气 散度演变 正压非平衡强迫 湿斜压热动力耦合强迫     

碳纳米管网络导电特征的导电型原子力显微镜研究

利用导电型原子力显微镜对大范围碳纳米管（CNT）网络的导电性能进行成像观察.研究发现：在几十微米的成像范围内,每根CNT本身的电阻远小于CNT之间的接触电阻,以致于在电压偏置的网络中不同的CNT呈现电位不同的等位体;CNT的导电性能虽不因与其他CNT的交叠接触而改变,但是如果缠绕成束,则半导体性CNT趋于呈现金属性CNT的导电特征. 关键词： 导电型原子力显微镜 碳纳米管网络 碳管纳米电导     

Stability of the magnetic domain structure of nanoparticle thin films against external fields

We investigate the effect of external magnetic fields on the magnetic structure of thin films from magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) with dipolar interaction. Such fields are present, for example, if samples are scanned with magnetic probes. Numerical simulations and experimental magnetic force microscopy (MFM) studies are presented. Numerically, we have calculated the magnetization pattern of single-layer and multilayer MNP thin films. The calculations show that unperturbed single-layer MNP films have an in-plane orientation of the magnetization with a flux-closure-domain pattern. An external field generated by a point dipole above the film induces locally an out-of-plane configuration of the magnetization. In the corresponding MFM images, the domain pattern in the film is erased and a stripe-like contrast enhancement at the edges appears. Multilayer films are found to be more robust against external fields than monolayers.     

The formation of a dislocation spiral on the (101) face of a monoclinic lysozyme crystal: High-resolution experiments

The elementary processes of crystal growth in the case of a low kink density on step edges have been studied by in situ atomic force microscopy. High-resolution images of the first turn of the polygonal dislocation spiral on the (101) face of monoclinic lysozyme crystals, which allow one to discern separate crystal cells, have been obtained. It has been shown that the dependence of the spiral segment velocity on its length is inconsistent with the Gibbs-Thomson law and is represented by several rectilinear sections. The results were explained by taking into account the features of the growth of crystals with a low kink density at low supersaturation.