Impact of GaAs(100) surface preparation on EQE of AZO/Al₂O₃/p-GaAs photovoltaic structures

• Piotr Caban,
• Rafał Pietruszka,
• Jarosław Kaszewski,
• Monika Ożga,
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Piotr Kuźmiuk,
• Katarzyna Gwóźdź,
• Ewa Płaczek-Popko,
• Krystyna Lawniczak-Jablonska and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 578–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.48

• /interface needs to be properly prepared. In the experiments described here we examined eight different paths of GaAs surface treatment (cleaning, etching, passivation) which resulted in different external quantum efficiency (EQE) values of the tested photovoltaic (PV) cells. Atomic force microscopy (AFM

Determining amplitude and tilt of a lateral force microscopy sensor

• Oliver Gretz,
• Alfred J. Weymouth,
• Thomas Holzmann,
• Korbinian Pürckhauer and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 517–524, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.42

• atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a non-contact atomic force microscopy technique where the frequency shift (Δf) of an oscillating tip is detected [1]. The frequency shift is a measure of the total force gradient acting on the tip, which includes both long-range and short-range contributions. A typical

Boosting of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution via chlorine doping of polymeric carbon nitride

• Malgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Michalina Kijaczko,
• Wojciech Kukulka,
• Daria Baranowska,
• Martyna Baca,
• Beata Zielinska and
• Ewa Mijowska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 473–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.38

• , carbon, oxygen, and chlorine in Cl-PCN was performed and showed homogeneous distribution of all elements in the sample. As analyzed via atomic force microscopy (AFM, Figure 2a and Figure 2b) the as-prepared PCN aggregated as large sheets with thickness ranging from 1 to 4 nm (corresponding to 3–11 atomic

The nanomorphology of cell surfaces of adhered osteoblasts

• Christian Voelkner,
• Mirco Wendt,
• Regina Lange,
• Max Ulbrich,
• Martina Gruening,
• Susanne Staehlke,
• Barbara Nebe,
• Ingo Barke and
• Sylvia Speller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 242–256, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.20

• signal is a force, pressure is applied to the sample. This is the case when using atomic force microscopy (AFM), giving rise to substantially depressed apparent heights on living and fixed cells [17]. Typically, mammalian cells exhibit Young's moduli in the range of 1 to 10 kPa while AFM probe pressures

Correction: Extracting viscoelastic material parameters using an atomic force microscope and static force spectroscopy

• Cameron H. Parvini,
• M. A. S. R. Saadi and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 137–138, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.10

• Cameron H. Parvini M. A. S. R. Saadi Santiago D. Solares Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science, 800 22nd St. NW, Suite 3000, Washington, DC 20052, United States 10.3762/bjnano.12.10 Keywords: atomic force

• microscopy (AFM); creep; force mapping; indentation; Kelvin–Voigt; static force spectroscopy (SFS); viscoelasticity; In the “Useful Viscoelastic Quantities” section of the original publication, it is stated that the storage modulus (E′) and storage compliance (J′) are inverses of one another (Equation 10

Fusion of purple membranes triggered by immobilization on carbon nanomembranes

• René Riedel,
• Natalie Frese,
• Fang Yang,
• Martin Wortmann,
• Raphael Dalpke,
• Daniel Rhinow,
• Norbert Hampp and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 93–101, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.8

• histidine-tag at the extracellular side of a PM mutant (c-His PM). The functionalization and the resulting hybrid membrane were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and infrared

Bulk chemical composition contrast from attractive forces in AFM force spectroscopy

• Dorothee Silbernagl,
• Media Ghasem Zadeh Khorasani,
• Natalia Cano Murillo,
• Anna Maria Elert and
• Heinz Sturm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 58–71, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.5

• of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the measurement of physical properties at sub-micrometer resolution. Methods such as force–distance curves (FDCs) or dynamic variants (such as intermodulation AFM (ImAFM)) are able to measure mechanical properties (such as the local stiffness, kr) of nanoscopic

• determined. Keywords: AFM force spectroscopy; composites; principle component analysis; structure–property correlation; van der Waals forces; Introduction The mechanical properties of small volumes of materials can be measured using various atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods. The well-established force

Atomic layer deposited films of Al₂O₃ on fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes: stability and barrier properties

• Hana Krýsová,
• Michael Neumann-Spallart,
• Hana Tarábková,
• Pavel Janda,
• Ladislav Kavan and
• Josef Krýsa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 24–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.2

• 7.2). Chronoamperometric measurements were performed in buffered solution (pH 7.2) at −1.2 V (vs Ag/AgCl). The morphology of the films was characterized ex situ, under ambient conditions, by atomic force microscopy (AFM, Dimension Icon, Bruker, USA) in a semicontact (tapping) mode. A silicon

Nanomechanics of few-layer materials: do individual layers slide upon folding?

• Ronaldo J. C. Batista,
• Rafael F. Dias,
• Ana P. M. Barboza,
• Alan B. de Oliveira,
• Taise M. Manhabosco,
• Thiago R. Gomes-Silva,
• Matheus J. S. Matos,
• Andreij C. Gadelha,
• Cassiano Rabelo,
• Luiz G. L. Cançado,
• Ado Jorio,
• Hélio Chacham and
• Bernardo R. A. Neves

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1801–1808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.162

• methods; atomic force microscopy (AFM); molecular dynamics (MD); Raman spectroscopy; nanostructured materials; Introduction Layered materials such as graphite, talc, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), held together by strong covalent bonds within layers and relatively weak van der Waals

Mapping of integrated PIN diodes with a 3D architecture by scanning microwave impedance microscopy and dynamic spectroscopy

• Rosine Coq Germanicus,
• Peter De Wolf,
• Florent Lallemand,
• Catherine Bunel,
• Serge Bardy,
• Hugues Murray and
• Ulrike Lüders

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1764–1775, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.159

• complete parametric investigation, is performed with a dynamic spectroscopy method. The results emphasize the strong impact, in terms of distinction and location, of the applied bias on the local sMIM measurements for both FEOL and BEOL layers. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); DataCube; doping

• crucial to optimize and increase the device integration. In order to map the electrical properties of microelectronic materials with a high spatial resolution, scanning probe microscopy (SPM), based on atomic force microscopy (AFM), offers several modes based on the control of electrical conduction and on

Direct observation of the Si(110)-(16×2) surface reconstruction by atomic force microscopy

• Tatsuya Yamamoto,
• Ryo Izumi,
• Kazushi Miki,
• Takahiro Yamasaki,
• Yasuhiro Sugawara and
• Yan Jun Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1750–1756, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.157

• between upper and lower terraces, which have not been reported using STM. These findings are key evidence for establishing an atomic model of the Si(110)-(16×2) reconstruction, which indeed has a complex structure. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM); Si

• regarding the atomic structure of the reconstruction that includes both pentagons and step edges is insufficient. In this study, the Si(110)-(16×2) reconstruction will be investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) at 78 K to directly observe the atomic arrangement of the reconstruction. In this work, we

PEG/PEI-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes as delivery carriers for doxorubicin: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation

• Shuoye Yang,
• Zhenwei Wang,
• Yahong Ping,
• Yuying Miao,
• Yongmei Xiao,
• Lingbo Qu,
• Lu Zhang,
• Yuansen Hu and
• Jinshui Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1728–1741, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.155

• ). Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra in the range from 500 to 4000 cm−1 were recorded with a FTIR spectrometer (Nicolet IS10). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted using a BRUKER D8 X-ray diffractometer in the 2θ range of 0–100° at a scanning rate of 5°·min−1. For atomic force microscopy

• (AFM) measurements, different SWCNT dispersions (ethanol/ultrapure water = 1:1) with a concentration of 0.01% were dripped on freshly cleaved mica and observed using an AFM (Dimension Icon, Bruker AXS). Drug loading and encapsulation efficiency An amount of 50 mg of different SWCNT samples were

Application of contact-resonance AFM methods to polymer samples

• Sebastian Friedrich and
• Brunero Cappella

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1714–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.154

• . Keywords: atomic force microscopy; contact resonance; mechanical properties; polymers; wear; Introduction The development of new materials for applications on the nanoscale, such as thin polymer films, demands a reliable determination of their mechanical properties. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a very

Out-of-plane surface patterning by subsurface processing of polymer substrates with focused ion beams

• Serguei Chiriaev,
• Luciana Tavares,
• Vadzim Adashkevich,
• Arkadiusz J. Goszczak and
• Horst-Günter Rubahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1693–1703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.151

• [4], in which 15 nm Pt60Pd40 films were patterned. Also, for the same reason of a more direct comparison, 200 nm thick PMMA substrates were used in this work to study possible effects of changing ion masses. Results and Discussion Irradiation of PMMA Figure 1 shows an example of an atomic force

• microscopy (AFM) image and the corresponding depth profile for a surface region of the Pt60Pd40/PMMA sample irradiated with He+ FIB at a fluence of 1.0 × 1016 cm−2. It is evident that the irradiation homogeneously lowers the entire irradiated surface to a depth of approx. 80 nm. For convenience, we define

Detecting stable adsorbates of (1S)-camphor on Cu(111) with Bayesian optimization

• Jari Järvi,
• Patrick Rinke and
• Milica Todorović

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1577–1589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.140

• electronic properties of the material. Assemblies of organic molecules on surfaces have been studied experimentally, for example with X-ray diffraction [4][5], scanning tunneling microscopy [6][7][8] and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [9][10][11]. These methods have a considerable resolution in imaging planar

Fabrication of nano/microstructures for SERS substrates using an electrochemical method

• Jingran Zhang,
• Tianqi Jia,
• Xiaoping Li,
• Junjie Yang,
• Zhengkai Li,
• Guangfeng Shi,
• Xinming Zhang and
• Zuobin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.139

• over a 20 × 20 μm2 area. Before the tests, the Raman spectra were rectified using a standard Si substrate. A Raman intensity peak of 1362 cm−1 for R6G was chosen in the experiment. An atomic force microscopy (AFM) system (Dimension Icon, Bruker, Germany) was employed to detect the two-dimensional and

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

• ; Introduction Since the invention of atomic force microscopy (AFM), different techniques have been introduced into the field to enhance and improve this nanotechnology equipment. In 2004, multifrequency AFM was introduced as a technique that can capture both topographical and material composition in a single

• Mehrnoosh Damircheli Babak Eslami Department of Mechanical Engineering, Widener University, Chester, Pennsylvania, 19013, USA Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 10.3762/bjnano.11.135 Abstract As the application of atomic force

• microscopy (AFM) in soft matter characterization has expanded, the use of different types of cantilevers for these studies have also increased. One of the most common types of cantilevers used in soft matter imaging is V-shaped cantilevers due to their low normal spring constant. These types of cantilevers

On the frequency dependence of viscoelastic material characterization with intermittent-contact dynamic atomic force microscopy: avoiding mischaracterization across large frequency ranges

• Enrique A. López-Guerra and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1409–1418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.125

• Enrique A. Lopez-Guerra Santiago D. Solares The George Washington University, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Washington, DC 20052, USA Park Systems Inc., Santa Clara, CA, 95054, USA 10.3762/bjnano.11.125 Abstract Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a widely use technique to

• help inform dynamic AFM characterization. Keywords: dynamic atomic force microscopy; Generalized Maxwell model; loss modulus; storage modulus; viscoelasticity; Introduction There have been significant methodology developments since the introduction of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in the mid-1980s [1

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

• integration. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); combined setup; correlative microscopy; helium ion microscopy (HIM); self-sensing cantilevers; Introduction Shortly after the invention of the atomic force microscope (AFM) in 1986 [1], efforts were made towards combining this scanning probe microscopy

Ultrasensitive detection of cadmium ions using a microcantilever-based piezoresistive sensor for groundwater

• Dinesh Rotake,
• Anand Darji and
• Nitin Kale

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1242–1253, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.108

• . It was calibrated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) [40]. The process begins with thermal oxidation of Si at 1000 °C using an oxidation furnace to obtain a thermally grown SiO2 layer followed by masking and etching to get the desired pattern. The polysilicon is deposited in a low-pressure chemical

Extracting viscoelastic material parameters using an atomic force microscope and static force spectroscopy

• Cameron H. Parvini,
• M. A. S. R. Saadi and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 922–937, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.77

• Cameron H. Parvini M. A. S. R. Saadi Santiago D. Solares Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science, 800 22nd St. NW, Suite 3000, Washington, DC 20052, United States 10.3762/bjnano.11.77 Abstract Atomic force

• microscopy (AFM) techniques have provided and continue to provide increasingly important insights into surface morphology, mechanics, and other critical material characteristics at the nanoscale. One attractive implementation involves extracting meaningful material properties, which demands physically

• parameters such as storage modulus, loss modulus, loss angle, and compliance. These steps constitute a complete guide to leveraging AFM-SFS data to estimate key material parameters, with a series of detailed insights into both the methodology and supporting analytical choices. Keywords: atomic force

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

• , 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

Band tail state related photoluminescence and photoresponse of ZnMgO solid solution nanostructured films

• Vadim Morari,
• Aida Pantazi,
• Nicolai Curmei,
• Vitalie Postolache,
• Emil V. Rusu,
• Marius Enachescu,
• Ion M. Tiginyanu and
• Veaceslav V. Ursaki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 899–910, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.75

• , and the deposition process lasted for 15 min. The morphology and chemical composition microanalysis of the produced films were studied using a Zeiss Sigma SEM, Hitachi SU 8230, equipped with tools for energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements were performed in

• unavoidable in the structure transformation process, in a certain interval of Mg concentrations. The phase segregation process was investigated in detail by means of X-ray diffraction, element-specific near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force

• microscopy (AFM), UV–vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and resistivity measurements in Zn1−xMgxO thin films deposited by the sol–gel spin-coating route in the composition range x = 0.00–0.40 [23]. It was found that the phase segregation manifests itself starting at a Mg content of x = 0.25. However

Three-dimensional solvation structure of ethanol on carbonate minerals

• Hagen Söngen,
• Ygor Morais Jaques,
• Peter Spijker,
• Christoph Marutschke,
• Stefanie Klassen,
• Ilka Hermes,
• Ralf Bechstein,
• Lidija Zivanovic,
• John Tracey,
• Adam S. Foster and
• Angelika Kühnle

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 891–898, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.74

• surfaces interact with a large variety of organic molecules, which can result in surface restructuring. This process is decisive for the formation of biominerals. With the development of 3D atomic force microscopy (AFM) it is now possible to image solid–liquid interfaces with unprecedented molecular

• -resolution 3D atomic force microscopy (AFM) [1], the hydration structure of many interfaces has been studied, including the aqueous interface of mica [2] calcite [3][4] dolomite [5][6] and organic crystals [7]. However, while the majority of 3D AFM works have concentrated on water, comparatively fewer

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