Length-extension resonator as a force sensor for high-resolution frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy in air

• Hannes Beyer,
• Tino Wagner and
• Andreas Stemmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 432–438, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.38

• -high vacuum (UHV), it remains a challenge under ambient conditions. However, imaging samples in their natural environment down to the atomic level is key to understanding their properties. Several factors such as contamination of the surface, environmental changes, and water layers on the surface

• ; frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy; high-resolution; length-extension resonator; Introduction Frequency-modulated atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM) is the method of choice to image nanoscale structures on surfaces down to the atomic level. Whereas atomic resolution is routinely achieved in ultra

Large area scanning probe microscope in ultra-high vacuum demonstrated for electrostatic force measurements on high-voltage devices

• Urs Gysin,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Thomas Schmölzer,
• Adolf Schöner,
• Sergey Reshanov,
• Holger Bartolf and
• Ernst Meyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2485–2497, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.258

• characterization of conducting or semiconducting power devices with EFM methods requires an accurate and reliable technique from the nanometre up to the micrometre scale. For high force sensitivity it is indispensable to operate the microscope under high to ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions to suppress viscous

• molecules in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions but also in areas which face the characterization of semiconductor devices. The common technical principle is always related to a conical tip attached to a cantilever which is accurately positioned at the specimen of interest and which is scanned over a

• their detailed inspection by KPFM is only feasible due to the implemented large scan range unit. Experimental The atomic force microscope (AFM) [24] developed and built in our physics department is placed in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system with a base pressure of <10−9 mbar. Operating the instrument

Distribution of Pd clusters on ultrathin, epitaxial TiO_x films on Pt₃Ti(111)

• Christian Breinlich,
• Maria Buchholz,
• Marco Moors,
• Tobias Pertram,
• Conrad Becker and
• Klaus Wandelt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2007–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.204

• a 0.5 mm tungsten wire and cleaned under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions using voltage pulses of 10 ms duration between −10 and +10 V. The STM data were analysed with the WSxM freeware program [17]. The (111)-oriented Pt3Ti crystal was purchased from MaTeck (Jülich, Germany) and cleaned using

Electrospray deposition of organic molecules on bulk insulator surfaces

• Antoine Hinaut,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1927–1934, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.195

• electronics. Knowing their adsorption geometries and electronic structures allows to design and predict macroscopic device properties. Fundamental investigations in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) are thus mandatory to analyze and engineer processes in this prospects. With increasing size, complexity or chemical

• molecules; non-contact AFM; ultra-high vacuum (UHV); Introduction Large complex molecules with tunable electronic properties are building block candidates for functional materials with special electrochemical and photophysical properties, which are of fundamental interest for many applications such as

• necessary and therefore ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions are required for these fundamental studies. However, thermal evaporation, the most commonly employed technique under UHV conditions, may lead to a fragmentation of large molecules generally happening before reaching the sublimation temperature

Transformations of PTCDA structures on rutile TiO₂ induced by thermal annealing and intermolecular forces

• Szymon Godlewski,
• Jakub S. Prauzner-Bechcicki,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymoński

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1498–1507, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.155

• performed in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system containing preparation, analytical, radial distribution and microscope chambers. In the experiments, a commercially available variable-temperature STM (VT-STM), manufactured by Omicron Nanotechnology GmbH, was used. The base pressure in the UHV system was in

Enhanced fullerene–Au(111) coupling in (2√3 × 2√3)R30° superstructures with intermolecular interactions

• Michael Paßens,
• Rainer Waser and
• Silvia Karthäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1421–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.147

• commercial Createc STM (Germany) operated in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) with a base pressure of 1 × 10−10 mbar. All STM images were obtained in constant-current mode at 77 K sample temperature using a custom-made electrochemically etched tungsten tips. The dI/dV spectra were recorded through lock-in detection

Graphene on SiC(0001) inspected by dynamic atomic force microscopy at room temperature

• Mykola Telychko,
• Jan Berger,
• Zsolt Majzik,
• Pavel Jelínek and
• Martin Švec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 901–906, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.93

• The experiments were performed in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment with a base pressure not exceeding 1 × 10 −10 mbar. N-doped Si-face 6H-SiC(0001) wafers purchased from CREE Inc., were cut into 3 mm × 10 mm stripes and mounted onto sample holders constructed for a direct-current sample heating

Stick–slip behaviour on Au(111) with adsorption of copper and sulfate

• Nikolay Podgaynyy,
• Sabine Wezisla,
• Christoph Molls,
• Shahid Iqbal and
• Helmut Baltruschat

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 820–830, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.85

• under ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions: simply by varying the potential of the working electrode, the electrode surface can quickly and reversibly be modified by adsorption of a foreign metal or other substances, while the degree of unwanted contamination can be kept as low as under UHV conditions

Magnetic properties of self-organized Co dimer nanolines on Si/Ag(110)

• Lisa Michez,
• Kai Chen,
• Fabien Cheynis,
• Frédéric Leroy,
• Alain Ranguis,
• Haik Jamgotchian,
• Margrit Hanbücken and
• Laurence Masson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 777–784, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.80

• achieved for the upper Co layers, allowing for the characterization of their intrinsic properties. Experimental All experiments were performed in situ in ultra high vacuum (UHV, base pressure, 10−10 Torr). The STM images and LEED patterns were recorded at the CINaM in Marseille using an Omicron

A versatile strategy towards non-covalent functionalization of graphene by surface-confined supramolecular self-assembly of Janus tectons

• Ping Du,
• David Bléger,
• Fabrice Charra,
• Vincent Bouchiat,
• David Kreher,
• Fabrice Mathevet and
• André-Jean Attias

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 632–639, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.64

• other weak interactions on graphene [20], where most of these works were performed by evaporating small molecules onto graphene under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. In this context, we recently developed a successful new strategy taking place at the liquid–solid interface at room temperature (RT

UHV deposition and characterization of a mononuclear iron(III) β-diketonate complex on Au(111)

• Irene Cimatti,
• Silviya Ninova,
• Valeria Lanzilotto,
• Luigi Malavolti,
• Luca Rigamonti,
• Brunetto Cortigiani,
• Matteo Mannini,
• Elena Magnano,
• Federica Bondino,
• Federico Totti,
• Andrea Cornia and
• Roberta Sessoli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2139–2148, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.223

• ultra-high vacuum (UHV) characterization. In Fe(dpm)3 the three dipivaloylmethanide ligands chelate a high-spin (HS) Fe3+ ion, producing a distorted octahedral coordination environment. Fe(dpm)3 is of specific importance because in a previous study it was suggested as a possible contaminant in thin

Fullerenes as adhesive layers for mechanical peeling of metallic, molecular and polymer thin films

• Maria B. Wieland,
• Anna G. Slater,
• Barry Mangham,
• Neil R. Champness and
• Peter H. Beton

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 394–401, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.46

• adhesive properties of the fullerene C60, and show that films with a thickness greater than 10 nm can be used for this application. The use of a sublimed C60 adhesion layer also ensures high chemical purity, is compatible with formation under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions and is known, even for

Thermal stability and reduction of iron oxide nanowires at moderate temperatures

• Annalisa Paolone,
• Marco Angelucci,
• Stefania Panero,
• Maria Grazia Betti and
• Carlo Mariani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 323–328, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.36

• maximum magnification, beam energy of 10 keV). The X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) measurements have been carried out at the Lotus laboratory at the “Università di Roma La Sapienza”, in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system with a base pressure of 1 × 10−10 mbar, un-monochromatized Al Kα photon source

Interaction of iron phthalocyanine with the graphene/Ni(111) system

• Lorenzo Massimi,
• Simone Lisi,
• Daniela Pacilè,
• Carlo Mariani and
• Maria Grazia Betti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 308–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.34

• observed for CoPc on Gr/Ni(111) [17]. We present a valence band UV photoemission study of the FePc adsorption on Gr/Ni, which brings to light a direct evidence of an interaction between the FePc molecule and the Ni substrate. Experimental Experiments were performed in situ in ultra-high-vacuum (UHV

Fabrication of carbon nanomembranes by helium ion beam lithography

• Xianghui Zhang,
• Henning Vieker,
• André Beyer and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 188–194, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.20

• some features (especially the small nuclei) might be due to contaminations from the transfer process, the sample (irradiated SAM on SiO2) was annealed up to 300 °C in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). The subsequent imaging with HIM confirms that no change of the structures occurs. It is also worth mentioning

Quantum size effects in TiO₂ thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

• Massimo Tallarida,
• Chittaranjan Das and
• Dieter Schmeisser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 77–82, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.7

• (ALD) of TiO2 was performed in an ultra-high-vacuum (UHV)-compatible reactor attached to the measurement chamber through a plate valve [12]. The Ti precursor (TTIP) pulse was 4 s, followed by two N2 purging pulses, each of 0.5 s, performed just after the Ti precursor and after 5 s. The H2O pulse was

Adsorption of the ionic liquid [BMP][TFSA] on Au(111) and Ag(111): substrate effects on the structure formation investigated by STM

• Benedikt Uhl,
• Florian Buchner,
• Dorothea Alwast,
• Nadja Wagner and
• R. Jürgen Behm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 903–918, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.102

• (trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [BMP][TFSA] on the close-packed Ag(111) and Au(111) surfaces by scanning tunneling microscopy, under ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions in the temperature range between about 100 K and 293 K. At room temperature, highly mobile 2D liquid adsorbate phases were observed on both surfaces. At low

Direct-write polymer nanolithography in ultra-high vacuum

• Woo-Kyung Lee,
• Minchul Yang,
• Arnaldo R. Laracuente,
• William P. King,
• Lloyd J. Whitman and
• Paul E. Sheehan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 52–56, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.6

• onto atomic force microscope (AFM) probes that could be heated to control the ink viscosity. Then, the ink-coated probes were placed into an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) AFM and used to write polymer nanostructures on surfaces, including surfaces cleaned in UHV. Controlling the writing speed of the tip

• circuits; a vacuum being essential both to preserve the cleanliness of the substrate and the deposited materials and to minimize the creation of defects [1]. Consequently, most deposition techniques from thermal evaporation to atomic layer deposition require a high level of vacuum, preferably ultra-high

• vacuum (UHV), to be used effectively. While the suite of established vacuum deposition technologies is vast and capable of highly precise deposition, there are relatively few methods to perform additive lithography in a single deposition step. Additive lithography deposits only the material that is

Effect of the tip state during qPlus noncontact atomic force microscopy of Si(100) at 5 K: Probing the probe

• Adam Sweetman,
• Sam Jarvis,
• Rosanna Danza and
• Philip Moriarty

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 25–32, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.3

• functionalised tips has provided additional impetus to elucidating the role of the tip apex in the observed contrast. Results: We present an analysis of the influence of the tip apex during imaging of the Si(100) substrate in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) at 5 K using a qPlus sensor for noncontact atomic force

Terthiophene on Au(111): A scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy study

• Berndt Koslowski,
• Anna Tschetschetkin,
• Norbert Maurer,
• Elena Mena-Osteritz,
• Peter Bäuerle and
• Paul Ziemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 561–568, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.60

• 250 nm, Arrandee, Germany) on glass were flame annealed in a butane flame to develop extended (111) facets. After introduction into ultra-high vacuum (UHV), these films were further annealed at temperatures up to 700 °C to remove contaminants from the surface. After a routine check of the gold surface

The role of the cantilever in Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements

• George Elias,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Alex Schwarzman,
• Amir Boag and
• Yossi Rosenwaks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 252–260, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.29

• cantilever in general, and in high resolution ultra-high vacuum (UHV) KPFM measurements in particular, has not been reported. In this work we use the boundary element method (BEM) [7] to calculate the point spread function (PSF) of the measuring probe: Tip and cantilever. The probe PSF analysis shows that

Manipulation of gold colloidal nanoparticles with atomic force microscopy in dynamic mode: influence of particle–substrate chemistry and morphology, and of operating conditions

• Samer Darwich,
• Karine Mougin,
• Akshata Rao,
• Enrico Gnecco,
• Shrisudersan Jayaraman and
• Hamidou Haidara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 85–98, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.10

• humidity), we have investigated how the nanomanipulation process is affected in ultra high vacuum (UHV) environment. The topography image in Figure 7 shows the gold particles on a silicon substrate after the sample was transferred into UHV without any further treatment, which could have changed the