PTCDA adsorption on CaF₂ thin films

• Philipp Rahe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1615–1622, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.144

• different surface areas. Imaging of PTCDA on a Si(111)-(7 × 7) cornerhole position at (a) negative and (d) positive sample bias (sample bias indicated in the upper right corner). (b) Topography-mode image at negative bias and (e) constant-height mode imaging at positive bias of PTCDA on a CaF1/Si(111

• in (c). The topography image in (d) presenting PTCDA on a mixed CaF2 and CaF1/Si(111) surface is used for the statistical analysis in (b). STM data acquired on a CaF1/Si(111) surface area (e) before and (f) after accidental removal of single PTCDA molecules by the STM tip. Stationary molecules are

Design of V-shaped cantilevers for enhanced multifrequency AFM measurements

• Mehrnoosh Damircheli and
• Babak Eslami

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1525–1541, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.135

• -pass measurement [1]. In bimodal AFM, the first eigenmode is excited at or near the resonance frequency (reserved for topography measurements) while the second eigenmode is in open-loop capturing material composition via phase shift of the second eigenmode. Due to its unique capabilities

• surface. The second sample is a polymer blend of PS and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) (HarmoniX sample purchased from Bruker) in order to challenge the cantilevers with more similar material properties. Figure 13a–c shows height or topography images of the Au–PS sample imaged in bimodal AFM using a

•  13a–c shows relatively similar topographies, Figure 13f show the highest phase contrast between Au and PS for the short V-shaped cantilever. Figure 14a–c shows height or topography images of the PS–LDPE samples imaged using a rectangular, a long V-shaped, and a short V-shaped cantilever, respectively

Helium ion microscope – secondary ion mass spectrometry for geological materials

• Matthew R. Ball,
• Richard J. M. Taylor,
• Joshua F. Einsle,
• Fouzia Khanom,
• Christelle Guillermier and
• Richard J. Harrison

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1504–1515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.133

• substitute in the crystal lattice within a solid solution. The Li signal appears to be stronger along mica sheets perpendicular to the c-axis of the crystal structure. However, this may be the result of surface topography similar to that observed in the zircon samples, as a result of polishing picking out

Protruding hydrogen atoms as markers for the molecular orientation of a metallocene

• Linda Laflör,
• Michael Reichling and
• Philipp Rahe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1432–1438, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.127

• with respect to the CaF2(111) surface lattice differs for the two geometries. In this work we investigate the NC-AFM contrast formation of FDCA molecules on CaF2(111) surfaces. A distinct dumbbell shape has been observed in both topography and constant-height imaging modes in low-temperature

• passes a molecular protrusion. Dumbbell shape of single FDCA molecules. Quadruped binding motif of FDCA on CaF2(111) (adapted from [22]) of (a) geo 1 and (b) geo 2. Dumbbell shape of FDCA molecules (c) on bulk CaF2(111) measured by NC-AFM in topography mode and (d) on thin film CaF2(111) surface measured

• frequency shift image. An inverted colour scale is used for the constant-height Δf NC-AFM data to match the topography appearance.) High-resolution NC-AFM imaging and simulation. Experimental and simulated frequency-shift images of a single molecular row along the direction (red arrows). Exemplary

Atomic defect classification of the H–Si(100) surface through multi-mode scanning probe microscopy

• Jeremiah Croshaw,
• Thomas Dienel,
• Taleana Huff and
• Robert Wolkow

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1346–1360, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.119

• concentration of dihydrides can be controlled by lowering the annealing temperature during sample preparation [19][70]. While the two varieties of dihydride look unique overall in STM empty states topography (Figure 2d-1 and Figure 2e-1), the side of the pair that the dihydride unit(s) appear on consistently

• , with both groups showing similar image contrast in STM topography (compare Figure 2i-1,2,3 with Figure 2j-1,2,3 and Supporting Information File 1, Figure S9). Their distinct location with respect to the dimer, however, is easily discerned throughout all analysis types in Figure 2i,j. In Si-tip AFM

• surface. The size of the area shown in (a) is outlined in (e). (c,d) Constant current (I = 50 pA) STM topography probing empty and filled states of the surface (bias voltages indicated in the lower left of each panel). (e) Constant height STM image with a fixed bias and height. (f) Scanning tunnelling

An atomic force microscope integrated with a helium ion microscope for correlative nanoscale characterization

• Santiago H. Andany,
• Gregor Hlawacek,
• Stefan Hummel,
• Charlène Brillard,
• Mustafa Kangül and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1272–1279, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.111

• performed without contamination of the sample and environmental changes between processing steps. The practicality of the resulting tool lies in the complementarity of the two techniques. The AFM offers not only true 3D topography maps, something the HIM can only provide in an indirect way, but also allows

• to be navigated onto the region of interest (Figure 2b,c) to perform AFM topography imaging (Figure 2d). PMMA has traditionally been used as a positive resist in electron beam lithography. Helium ion beam lithography has emerged as a powerful technique to achieve even smaller feature size thanks to

• . Figure 3a and Figure 3b show two AFM topography images of PMMA exposed to a dose of 1 × 1013 cm−2 and 3 × 1013 cm−2 30 keV He ions, respectively, as well as the corresponding height profiles of the irradiated PMMA surface. Focused ion beam damage and implantation can hinder the imaging and nanoscale

High permittivity, breakdown strength, and energy storage density of polythiophene-encapsulated BaTiO₃ nanoparticles

• Adnanullah Khan,
• Amir Habib and
• Adeel Afzal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1190–1197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.103

• the SEM image shown in Figure 4a. PTh, on the other hand, exhibits an inhomogeneous surface morphology with large flakes of polymer randomly distributed on the surface. In case of core–shell BTO-PTh nanoparticles (Figure 5b), the surface topography is very consistent with uniformly distributed sub

• images of the as-prepared BTO nanoparticles (a), BTO-PTh nanoparticles (b), and pristine PTh (c). 3D images showing the surface topography, and 2D images along with surface profiles showing the surface morphology of all samples. Dielectric properties of the as-prepared BTO nanoparticles, pristine PTh

Revealing the local crystallinity of single silicon core–shell nanowires using tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Marius van den Berg,
• Ardeshir Moeinian,
• Arne Kobald,
• Yu-Ting Chen,
• Anke Horneber,
• Steffen Strehle,
• Alfred J. Meixner and
• Dai Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1147–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.99

• dominant field component lays out-of-plane (parallel to the tip shaft). Figure 4b,c demonstrates that the tip apex can be easily excited, which is a precondition for producing a localized near field at the tip apex. Next, we approached the sample to the tip and recorded the topography (size: 250 × 250 nm2

• , we combined angle-resolved polarization measurements with TERS to investigate the effects of tip–sample interactions on the optical signals. In Figure 6a the topography of a SiNW surface is shown. Along the dashed arrow, 32 spectra were recorded, and eight of them are plotted in Figure 6b. Although

• greatly increased leading to a strong local near field confined at the tip apex. This gives rise to the enhanced sensitivity of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). TERS combined with scanning probe microscopy (SPM) also allows for the collection of correlated topography and optical images [42][43

Thermophoretic tweezers for single nanoparticle manipulation

• Jošt Stergar and
• Natan Osterman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1126–1133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.97

• nanodots, so-called plasmonic tweezers [6][7][8] or a fluidic slit with appropriately tailored topography with resulting spatially modulated electrostatic potential [9] can be used to trap nanoparticles, but again a prefabricated nanostructured substrate is needed. A decade ago, the anti-Brownian

Monolayers of MoS₂ on Ag(111) as decoupling layers for organic molecules: resolution of electronic and vibronic states of TCNQ

• Asieh Yousofnejad,
• Gaël Reecht,
• Nils Krane,
• Christian Lotze and
• Katharina J. Franke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1062–1071, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.91

• , although the experimental width prevented us from resolving the individual modes. a) STM topography of MoS2 on Ag(111) recorded at V = 1.2 V, I = 20 pA. Inset: Line profile of a monolayer MoS2 island along the green line. b) Close-up view on the moiré structure. c) Atomically resolved terminating S layer

• (V = 5 mV, I = 1 nA). d) Constant-height dI/dV spectra of MoS2/Ag(111) recorded on a top and on a hollow region of the moiré structure as shown on the inserted STM topography (feedback opened at V = 2.5 V, I = 0.5 nA, Vmod = 10 mV). The inset shows the gap region of MoS2/Ag(111) on a logarithmic

• = 2.5 V, I = 0.5 nA, Vmod = 10 mV (all spectra, except for hollow site on Au(111): Vmod = 5 mV). a) Stick-and-ball model of TCNQ. Gray, blue, and white spheres represent C, N, and H atoms, respectively. b) STM topography of a TCNQ molecular island on MoS2/Ag(111) recorded at V = 1 V, I = 10 pA. c) STM

Measurement of electrostatic tip–sample interactions by time-domain Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Christian Ritz,
• Tino Wagner and
• Andreas Stemmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 911–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.76

• –sample bias. This allows for an electrostatic characterization and simultaneously minimizes the electrostatic influence onto the topography measurement. However, a static contribution due to the bias modulation itself remains uncompensated, which can induce topographic height errors. Here, we demonstrate

• results in a continuous measurement of the local surface potential, the capacitance gradient, and the frequency shift induced by surface topography. In contrast to conventional techniques, the detection of the topography-induced frequency shift enables the compensation of all electrostatic influences

• , including the component arising from the bias modulation. This constitutes an important improvement over conventional techniques and paves the way for more reliable and accurate measurements of electrostatics and topography. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); electrostatic height error; extended

Integrated photonics multi-waveguide devices for optical trapping and Raman spectroscopy: design, fabrication and performance demonstration

• Gyllion B. Loozen,
• Arnica Karuna,
• Mohammad M. R. Fanood,
• Erik Schreuder and
• Jacob Caro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 829–842, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.68

• away from the edge. In the next step, a 3 µm thick layer of SiO2 is deposited using LPCVD (Figure 5e). This layer acts as an upper cladding of the excitation waveguides and separates these from the waveguiding layer that follows. For simplicity, we do not show the surface topography resulting after

• are also clearly discernible. The four detection waveguides occupy a maximum space along the sides of the microbath for optimum collection efficiency. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image in Figure 6c shows the topography of the microbath and the side channels. The DRIE process of these

• layers does not reflect the real situation. The surface topography resulting from the conformal deposition on the etched structures has been omitted in the cross sections. (a) Optical microscope image of a device with 16 excitation and 4 detection waveguides. (b) Magnification of the marked area in (a

Templating effect of single-layer graphene supported by an insulating substrate on the molecular orientation of lead phthalocyanine

• K. Priya Madhuri,
• Abhay A. Sagade,
• Pralay K. Santra and
• Neena S. John

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 814–820, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.66

• molecules with monoclinic and triclinic fractions on the surface of SLG/SiO2/Si is inferred in Figure 4. The topography of the PbPc layer was studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM, Figure 5). Figure 5a and the inset show that the film consists of granular PbPc crystallites deposited uniformly on the

• electrical studies using conducting-AFM (C-AFM). Figure 6a,b shows the topography and the corresponding current map of the film. The current response map shows an average current value of about 1 nA across the surface with highly conducting grains, which exhibit current values as high as 8–9 nA (Figure 6c

• height variation. (a) AFM topography,1 µm × 1 µm scan area. (b) Corresponding current map of 10 nm PbPc thin film on SLG/SiO2/Si substrate obtained at 2 V sample bias. (c) Profile section of (b) along the marked line showing the current variation across the film. (d) I–V curve acquired from a conducting

Quantitative determination of the interaction potential between two surfaces using frequency-modulated atomic force microscopy

• Nicholas Chan,
• Carrie Lin,
• Tevis Jacobs,
• Robert W. Carpick and
• Philip Egberts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 729–739, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.60

• topography, among other parameters. In order to determine the interaction force behavior as a function of the separation distance, we measured the frequency shift of the oscillating cantilever as a function of the separation distance (Δf–d curves) between a silicon AFM probe and a diamond sample. An

Stochastic excitation for high-resolution atomic force acoustic microscopy imaging: a system theory approach

• Edgar Cruz Valeriano,
• José Juan Gervacio Arciniega,
• Christian Iván Enriquez Flores,
• Susana Meraz Dávila,
• Joel Moreno Palmerin,
• Martín Adelaido Hernández Landaverde,
• Yuri Lizbeth Chipatecua Godoy,
• Aime Margarita Gutiérrez Peralta,
• Rafael Ramírez Bon and
• José Martín Yañez Limón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 703–716, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.58

• of the graphite film is 7 nm. A conventional AFM topography image is shown in Figure 6a. Film and substrate are labeled. Then, a comparison is shown between the results obtained by RT-AFAM and S-AFAM. Figure 6b shows an RT-AFAM image where the difference between materials is hardly noticeable. S-AFAM

• ) Conventional AFM topography; b) RT-AFAM for 188–191 kHz window; and S-AFAM frequency maps for c) 49–53 kHz window, d) 82–97 kHz window, e) 168–176 kHz window and f) 186–194 kHz window. Results for a graphite film on a glass substrate: a) indentation modulus mapping and b) histogram for the mapping. Modeled and

Exfoliation in a low boiling point solvent and electrochemical applications of MoO₃

• Matangi Sricharan,
• Bikesh Gupta,
• Sreejesh Moolayadukkam and
• H. S. S. Ramakrishna Matte

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 662–670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.52

• in Figure 2c shows the topography of MoO3 nanosheets the thickness values of which suggest the presence of 5–7 layers [6]. The FESEM micrographs shown in Supporting Information File 1 corroborate the exfoliation of MoO3. Figure S3a,b (Supporting Information File 1) shows bulk MoO3 and exfoliated

Comparison of fresh and aged lithium iron phosphate cathodes using a tailored electrochemical strain microscopy technique

• Matthias Simolka,
• Hanno Kaess and
• Kaspar Andreas Friedrich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 583–596, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.46

• (FIB) SEM and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Another technique for post-mortem analysis is atomic force microscopy (AFM). In its basic form, it provides information on the topography of the sample. More advanced AFM modes extract in addition to the topography

• additional mechanical (stiffness, elasticity), electrical (conductivity, surface potential), electrochemical (reactivity, mobility and activity), mechanoelectrical (piezoelectricity) and chemical (chemical bonding) material properties. In situ AFM imaging of the sample topography is often used to study the

• analysis was conducted with a Bruker Icon instrument inside a glovebox (MBraun, O2 and H2O < 2 ppm), equipped with a Zurich Instruments lock-in amplifier (HF2LI), a signal access module (SAM V) and PeakForce quantitative nanomechanical properties (QNM) module. In addition to the ESM signal, the topography

Current measurements in the intermittent-contact mode of atomic force microscopy using the Fourier method: a feasibility analysis

• Berkin Uluutku and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 453–465, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.37

• surface properties, such as topography, viscoelasticity, electrical potential and conductivity. Some of these properties are measured using contact methods (static contact or intermittent contact), while others are measured using noncontact methods. Some properties can be measured using different

A review of demodulation techniques for multifrequency atomic force microscopy

• David M. Harcombe,
• Michael G. Ruppert and
• Andrew J. Fleming

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 76–91, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.8

• provide further nanomechanical sample information. These include properties such as sample elasticity, stiffness and adhesiveness [17], which are mapped simultaneously with the topography. Acquiring these observables requires the accurate demodulation of amplitude and phase of multiple frequency

• illustrates a cantilever driven at multiple frequencies being amplitude-modulated by a sample topography. In MF-AFM, the cantilever deflection signal contains frequency components originating from the fundamental resonance mode, as well as from higher eigenmodes and/or harmonics. If for simplicity we assume

• are preferred over the Kalman filter, as they are significantly easier to implement. (a) Schematic diagram of sample topography amplitude-modulating a cantilever the oscillation of which consists of multiple frequencies. (b) Double-sided amplitude frequency spectrum of a cantilever oscillating at

The effect of heat treatment on the morphology and mobility of Au nanoparticles

• Sven Oras,
• Sergei Vlassov,
• Simon Vigonski,
• Boris Polyakov,
• Mikk Antsov,
• Vahur Zadin,
• Rünno Lõhmus and
• Karine Mougin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 61–67, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.6

• and 2 nm NPs into rounded shapes bounded by energetically favorable surfaces. Atoms are colored according to their crystallographic surface type. (a) Profile of a Au NP and (b) topography image of NPs on the Si substrate prior to manipulation. (c and d) Phase images recorded during the manipulation

Label-free highly sensitive probe detection with novel hierarchical SERS substrates fabricated by nanoindentation and chemical reaction methods

• Jingran Zhang,
• Tianqi Jia,
• Yongda Yan,
• Li Wang,
• Peng Miao,
• Yimin Han,
• Xinming Zhang,
• Guangfeng Shi,
• Yanquan Geng,
• Zhankun Weng,
• Daniel Laipple and
• Zuobin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2483–2496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.239

• . Compared with the pyramidal cavities etched for 5 minutes, the topography of the pyramidal cavities etched by 10 minutes are obviously changed as shown in Figure 2c. Figure 1e and Figure 2d show SEM images of arrayed triangular cavities with fx = 5 μm and fy = 1 μm. Compared with cavities etched for 5

• of the Cu substrate. The simulation model corresponds to the SEM topography of the indentation structures fabricated by different feeds in the AgNO3 solution after 5 minutes as shown in Figure 1d,e. The Ag nanoparticles are formed on the pile-ups of the indentation structures and the adjacent

Mobility of charge carriers in self-assembled monolayers

• Zhihua Fu,
• Tatjana Ladnorg,
• Hartmut Gliemann,
• Alexander Welle,
• Asif Bashir,
• Michael Rohwerder,
• Qiang Zhang,
• Björn Schüpbach,
• Andreas Terfort and
• Christof Wöll

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2449–2458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.235

• determination of apparent heights of islands from STM data is somewhat indirect, the conductivities of the patterned areas were determined directly by means of highly sensitive current measurements, where the conductive tip of the AFM is used as a top electrode. This setup allows determining the topography and

• rather indirect. In contrast, with the conductive AFM the conductivity can be determined for a fixed height of the AFM tip above the SAM surface directly from simultaneous measurements of the topography and conductive response of the SAMs. The topography and the associated conductivity measurements of

• the sample surface with PAT islands prepared by grafting insulating HDT in the PAT SAM are shown in Figure 2. Figure 2a and Figure 2c show the topography image of a representative surface area with grafted PAT islands with different magnifications. Figure 2b represents the 3D image of the current

Self-assembly of a terbium(III) 1D coordination polymer on mica

• Quentin Evrard,
• Giuseppe Cucinotta,
• Felix Houard,
• Guillaume Calvez,
• Yan Suffren,
• Carole Daiguebonne,
• Olivier Guillou,
• Andrea Caneschi,
• Matteo Mannini and
• Kevin Bernot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2440–2448, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.234

• solution and a pulsed Horiba Scientific DeltaDiode DD-340 nm for the CHCl3 solution. Deposition of [Tb(hfac)3·2H2O]n on the mica substrate. AFM topography images of [Tb(hfac)3·2H2O]n@mica (a) 30 minutes and (b) 1 day after deposition showing the presence on the surface of needle-like objects together with

Integration of sharp silicon nitride tips into high-speed SU8 cantilevers in a batch fabrication process

• Nahid Hosseini,
• Matthias Neuenschwander,
• Oliver Peric,
• Santiago H. Andany,
• Jonathan D. Adams and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2357–2363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.226

• (SPM) [1]. Quality and accuracy of an AFM image strongly depend on the tip geometry since the image topography is the convolution of the surface topography and the cantilever tip geometry [2]. More precisely, the resulting images suffer from the effect of dilation [3]. AFM images with tip artefacts are

• topography significantly better. Discussion The critical feature of any AFM cantilever is the tip. For general imaging, the quality of the tip is primarily determined by the tip radius and the wear rate of the tip. We need to comment that our tips have a decent sharpness compared to other silicon nitride

• µm pitch reference sample taken by the RTESPA silicon cantilever and the LSNT-tip SU8 cantilever at scan rates of 1, 10, 20 and 30 Hz. The SU8 cantilever shows a better topography tracking ability compared to the RTESPA cantilever due to its higher tapping bandwidth. The scale bar is 500 nm

A novel method to remove impulse noise from atomic force microscopy images based on Bayesian compressed sensing

• Yingxu Zhang,
• Yingzi Li,
• Zihang Song,
• Zhenyu Wang,
• Jianqiang Qian and
• Junen Yao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2346–2356, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.225

• result, Φ ∈ RM×N is the measurement matrix, xT ∈ RN×1 represents the true sample topography, and e is the measurement noise. If M is smaller than N, then the AFM imaging is CS imaging. Because the AFM only samples one pixel of an image at a time and moves around to obtain an image, the compressed

• sampling of the AFM can be seen as randomly collecting partial elements of x. The undersampling process can be modeled by an identity matrix with some rows removed, shown in Figure 2. In order to recover the true AFM image from the undersampled data, the sample topography x must be sparse, i.e. some

• CS imaging because all the rows of the image are stacked together to generate a vector [19][28]. In CS AFM imaging, recovering the true sample topography from the undersampled information has high computational cost. For a n × n AFM image, the compressed sampling matrix is M × N (n ≪ M < N), which