Confinement of the field electron emission to atomic sites on ultra sharp tips

The spatially controlled field assisted etching method for sharpening metallic tips, in a field ion microscope (FIM), is used to study the evolution of the field emission when the tip apex radius is decreased below 1 nm. Unlike the conventional image formation in a field emission microscope (FEM), we demonstrate that at this scale the field emission is rather confined to atomic sites. A single atom apex fabricated at the end of such tips exhibits an outstanding brightness compared to other atomic tips. The measurements have been repeated for two double atom tips, with different atom-atom separations, and images of atomic field emission localization have also been obtained. We have found that the field emission intensity alternates between adjacent atoms when the applied voltage is gradually increased beyond a threshold value.     

Optical properties of a-Se90In10−x Snx chalcogenide thin films before and after gamma irradiation

Amorphous Se₉₀In_10?xSn_x (x=2, 4, 6, and 8) thin films of thickness 1000 Å were prepared on glass substrates by the thermal evaporation technique. Optical parameters of the films were investigated, in the wavelength range 400–700 nm, before and after irradiation by 4, 8, and 12 kGy doses of γ-ray. The optical absorption coefficient α for as-deposited and gamma irradiated films was calculated from the reflectance R and transmittance T measurements, which were recorded at room temperature. From the knowledge of α, at different wavelengths, the optical band gap E_g was calculated for all compositions of Se–In–Sn thin films before and after gamma irradiation. Results indicate that allowed indirect optical transition is predominated in as-deposited and irradiated films. Besides, it is found that the band gap decreases with increasing Sn concentration and this is attributed to the corresponding decrease in the average single bond energy of the films. The band gap, after irradiation at different doses of γ-ray, was found to decrease for all compositions of the studied films. This post-irradiation decrease in the band gap was interpreted in terms of a bond distribution model.     

Finite element simulation and analytical analysis for nano field emission sources that terminate with a single atom: A new perspective on nanotips

Nanotips are highly demanded for various applications in nanotechnology. For instance, nanotips with a single atom end can be used as a source of self collimated electron or ion beams. Such tips are usually characterized in the field ion microscope (FIM) or the field emission microscope (FEM), where only a top view can be captured and analyzed. We have noticed that single atom tips fabricated by different methods produce electrons in FEM mode, or ions in FIM mode, at a wide range of applied voltages for the respective mode. In this work we present numerical and analytical analyses to the distribution of the electric field in the vicinity of the nanotip apex that holds the topmost single atom. We demonstrate that although the electric field is relatively enhanced by the nano protrusion it is still significantly dominated by the tip base. The analyses explicitly show that nanotips with broad bases produce even less field than some modest tips, at the same applied voltage. This pronounced effect of the tip base accounts for the relatively high voltages needed at the imaging threshold field. The results reveal that single atom tips are not necessarily sharp at a mesoscopic scale and the tip sharpness has to be determined from the combination of the nanotip apex (FIM or FEM) image and the applied voltage.     

Selective proper orthogonal decomposition model reduction for forming simulations

Robot-based incremental sheet metal forming is a cost-effective and flexible method for prototype and low batch size production. The simulation of such processes is very challenging and elaborate from the computational point of view. To reduce the computational effort model reduction techniques such as proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) can be applied. But the reduction of highly non-linear models in solid mechanics for example forming simulation still leads to problems of efficiency and accuracy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present an alternative way to use POD for forming processes. The presented selective POD (SPOD) method is used to split the model into two domains depending on the degree of plastic strain. Only the domain with approximately linear elastic behavior will be reduced by using POD. Utilizing the SPOD method for the example of forming a horizontal flute reduces the computational time up to around 30 per cent. High accuracy with approximation errors smaller than one per mill is achieved. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The bidentate behaviour of tetrahydroborate towards copper(II) and group(IV) metals in heterobimetallic complexes

Summary New heterobimetallic complexes of the type [Cu(TETA)-BH₄)₂M(BH₄)₂] (TETA = triethylene tetramine; M = Si, Ge, Sn, Ti and Zr) were prepared by the interaction of [Cu(TETA)Cl₂MCl₂] with an excess of KBH₄ in THF. The results indicate that the complexes are nonelectrolytes and the tetrahydroborate group links to the copper(II) atom and the group(IV) metal in a bidentate manner adopting C _2v symmetry.     

Tungsten nanotip fabrication by spatially controlled field-assisted reaction with nitrogen

In this report we present a straightforward new technique for fabricating nanotips. This approach is based on spatially controlling the reaction of nitrogen gas with the surface atoms of a tungsten tip in a field ion microscope (FIM). Confining this field-assisted etching reaction to the shank has enabled us to produce single-atom tips with an apex radius far sharper than the nominal 10 nm radius of curvature tips we start with. Tip sharpening is evidenced in several ways. The FIM imaging voltage drops dramatically from, typically, 4.4 to 1.6 kV. Nanotip formation is also evident from the increase in the FIM magnification and the decrease in the apex area, which are monitored throughout the experiment. A subsequent field evaporation allows the nanotip to be sequentially deconstructed to further describe the extraordinary sharp tip that was formed. We also demonstrate the utility of these nanotips for the scanning tunneling microscope.