Breaking the Fundamental Limitations of Nanoscale Ferroelectric Characterization: Non‐Contact Heterodyne Electrostrain Force Microscopy (Small Methods 11/2021)

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is capable of imaging electrically conductive and non-conductive surfaces at atomic resolution. When used to image biological samples, however, lateral resolution is often limited to nanometer levels, due primarily to AFM tip/sample interactions. Several approaches to immobilize and stabilize soft or flexible molecules for AFM have been examined, notably, tethering coating, and freezing. Although each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, rapid freezing techniques have the special advantage of avoiding chemical perturbation, and minimizing physical disruption of the sample. Scanning with an AFM at cryogenic temperatures has the potential to image frozen biomolecules at high resolution. We have constructed a force microscope capable of operating immersed in liquid n-pentane and have tested its performance at room temperature with carbon and metal-coated samples, and at 143° K with uncoated ferritin and purple membrane (PM).

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AFM study of the dynamics of α-alumina surface faceting during high-temperature processing

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010013804x ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 334-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael W. Bench ◽

Jason R. Heffelfinger ◽

C. Barry Carter

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Thin Foil ◽

Sem Analysis ◽

Conductive Coatings ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Minimal Sample ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Formation And Evolution ◽

High Temperature Processing ◽

Nominal Surface

To gain a better understanding of the surface faceting that occurs in α-alumina during high temperature processing, atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies have been performed to follow the formation and evolution of the facets. AFM was chosen because it allows for analysis of topographical details down to the atomic level with minimal sample preparation. This is in contrast to SEM analysis, which typically requires the application of conductive coatings that can alter the surface between subsequent heat treatments. Similar experiments have been performed in the TEM; however, due to thin foil and hole edge effects the results may not be representative of the behavior of bulk surfaces.The AFM studies were performed on a Digital Instruments Nanoscope III using microfabricated Si3N4 cantilevers. All images were recorded in air with a nominal applied force of 10-15 nN. The alumina samples were prepared from pre-polished single crystals with (0001), , and nominal surface orientations.

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Attractive mode force microscopy of chiral liquid crystal surfaces

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100121740 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 268-269

Author(s):

B.D. Terris ◽

R. J. Twieg ◽

C. Nguyen ◽

G. Sigaud ◽

H. T. Nguyen

Keyword(s):

Liquid Crystal ◽

Crystal Surfaces ◽

Free Surfaces ◽

Control Range ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Liquid Crystal Films ◽

Chiral Liquid Crystal ◽

Crystal Films ◽

Electrostatic Charging ◽

And Shifts

We have used a force microscope in the attractive, or noncontact, mode to image a variety of surfaces. In this mode, the microscope tip is oscillated near its resonant frequency and shifts in this frequency due to changes in the surface-tip force gradient are detected. We have used this technique in a variety of applications to polymers, including electrostatic charging, phase separation of ionomer surfaces, and crazing of glassy films.Most recently, we have applied the force microscope to imaging the free surfaces of chiral liquid crystal films. The compounds used (Table 1) have been chosen for their polymorphic variety of fluid mesophases, all of which exist within the temperature control range of our force microscope.

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Scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy: New tools for biology

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100155864 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 778-779

Author(s):

CE Bracker ◽

P. K. Hansma

Keyword(s):

Physical Property ◽

Scanning Probe ◽

Scanning Tunneling ◽

Small Scale ◽

Tunneling Microscopy ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

New Family ◽

Small Probe ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Transmission Electron

A new family of scanning probe microscopes has emerged that is opening new horizons for investigating the fine structure of matter. The earliest and best known of these instruments is the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). First published in 1982, the STM earned the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for two of its inventors, G. Binnig and H. Rohrer. They shared the prize with E. Ruska for his work that had led to the development of the transmission electron microscope half a century earlier. It seems appropriate that the award embodied this particular blend of the old and the new because it demonstrated to the world a long overdue respect for the enormous contributions electron microscopy has made to the understanding of matter, and at the same time it signalled the dawn of a new age in microscopy. What we are seeing is a revolution in microscopy and a redefinition of the concept of a microscope.Several kinds of scanning probe microscopes now exist, and the number is increasing. What they share in common is a small probe that is scanned over the surface of a specimen and measures a physical property on a very small scale, at or near the surface. Scanning probes can measure temperature, magnetic fields, tunneling currents, voltage, force, and ion currents, among others.

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Scanned tip measurement of deep vertical facets on a flat surface: Measuring roughness on gaas laser waveguide mirrors

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100148496 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 532-533

Author(s):

Chang Shen ◽

Phil Fraundorf ◽

Robert W. Harrick

Keyword(s):

Integrated Circuits ◽

Flat Surface ◽

Scanning Force Microscopy ◽

Scanning Tunneling ◽

Tunneling Microscopy ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits ◽

Laser Waveguide ◽

Scanning Force ◽

Gaas Laser

Monolithic integration of optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEIC) requires high quantity etched laser facets which prevent the developing of more-highly-integrated OEIC's. The causes of facet roughness are not well understood, and improvement of facet quality is hampered by the difficulty in measuring the surface roughness. There are several approaches to examining facet roughness qualitatively, such as scanning force microscopy (SFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The challenge here is to allow more straightforward monitoring of deep vertical etched facets, without the need to cleave out test samples. In this presentation, we show air based STM and SFM images of vertical dry-etched laser facets, and discuss the image acquisition and roughness measurement processes. Our technique does not require precision cleaving. We use a traditional tip instead of the T shape tip used elsewhere to preventing “shower curtain” profiling of the sidewall. We tilt the sample about 30 to 50 degrees to avoid the curtain effect.

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Log-log scale roughness spectroscopy of surfaces

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100146965 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 224-225

Author(s):

P. Fraundorf ◽

B. Armbruster

Keyword(s):

Power Spectrum ◽

Autocorrelation Function ◽

Power Spectra ◽

Scanning Force Microscopy ◽

Scanning Tunneling ◽

Tunneling Microscopy ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Scanning Force ◽

Lateral Structure ◽

Scale Roughness

Optical interferometry, confocal light microscopy, stereopair scanning electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and scanning force microscopy, can produce topographic images of surfaces on size scales reaching from centimeters to Angstroms. Second moment (height variance) statistics of surface topography can be very helpful in quantifying “visually suggested” differences from one surface to the next. The two most common methods for displaying this information are the Fourier power spectrum and its direct space transform, the autocorrelation function or interferogram. Unfortunately, for a surface exhibiting lateral structure over several orders of magnitude in size, both the power spectrum and the autocorrelation function will find most of the information they contain pressed into the plot’s origin. This suggests that we plot power in units of LOG(frequency)≡-LOG(period), but rather than add this logarithmic constraint as another element of abstraction to the analysis of power spectra, we further recommend a shift in paradigm.

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Morphology and development of flow-pattern defect with extended nonagitated Secco etching

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100172073 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 868-869

Author(s):

Y. Pan

Keyword(s):

Flow Pattern ◽

Silicon Crystal ◽

Gate Oxide ◽

Crystal Growth Rate ◽

Etch Depth ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Etch Pit ◽

Float Zone ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Multiple Step

The D defect, which causes the degradation of gate oxide integrities (GOI), can be revealed by Secco etching as flow pattern defect (FPD) in both float zone (FZ) and Czochralski (Cz) silicon crystal or as crystal originated particles (COP) by a multiple-step SC-1 cleaning process. By decreasing the crystal growth rate or high temperature annealing, the FPD density can be reduced, while the D defectsize increased. During the etching, the FPD surface density and etch pit size (FPD #1) increased withthe etch depth, while the wedge shaped contours do not change their positions and curvatures (FIG.l).In this paper, with atomic force microscopy (AFM), a simple model for FPD morphology by non-crystallographic preferential etching, such as Secco etching, was established.One sample wafer (FPD #2) was Secco etched with surface removed by 4 μm (FIG.2). The cross section view shows the FPD has a circular saucer pit and the wedge contours are actually the side surfaces of a terrace structure with very small slopes. Note that the scale in z direction is purposely enhanced in the AFM images. The pit dimensions are listed in TABLE 1.

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Surface roughness measurements of vanadium-contaminated fluidized cracking catalysts by atomic force microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100166798 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 54 ◽

pp. 866-867

Author(s):

H. Kinney ◽

M.L. Occelli ◽

S.A.C. Gould

Keyword(s):

Surface Roughness ◽

Zeolite Y ◽

Atomic Level ◽

Microporous Structure ◽

Contact Mode ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Before And After ◽

Roughness Measurements ◽

Cracking Catalysts

For this study we have used a contact mode atomic force microscope (AFM) to study to topography of fluidized cracking catalysts (FCC), before and after contamination with 5% vanadium. We selected the AFM because of its ability to well characterize the surface roughness of materials down to the atomic level. It is believed that the cracking in the FCCs occurs mainly on the catalysts top 10-15 μm suggesting that the surface corrugation could play a key role in the FCCs microactivity properties. To test this hypothesis, we chose vanadium as a contaminate because this metal is capable of irreversibly destroying the FCC crystallinity as well as it microporous structure. In addition, we wanted to examine the extent to which steaming affects the vanadium contaminated FCC. Using the AFM, we measured the surface roughness of FCCs, before and after contamination and after steaming.We obtained our FCC (GRZ-1) from Davison. The FCC is generated so that it contains and estimated 35% rare earth exchaged zeolite Y, 50% kaolin and 15% binder.

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Development of the UHV-STM

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100180367 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 322-323

Author(s):

M. Iwatsuki ◽

S. Kitamura ◽

A. Mogami

Keyword(s):

Surface Science ◽

Real Space ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Scanning Tunneling ◽

Great Promise ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Stm Image ◽

Surface Construction ◽

Very High

Since Binnig, Rohrer and associates observed real-space topographic images of Si(111)-7×7 and invented the scanning tunneling microscope (STM),1) the STM has been accepted as a powerful surface science instrument.Recently, many application areas for the STM have been opened up, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and others. So, the STM technology holds a great promise for the future.The great advantages of the STM are its high spatial resolution in the lateral and vertical directions on the atomic scale. However, the STM has difficulty in identifying atomic images in a desired area because it uses piezoelectric (PZT) elements as a scanner.On the other hand, the demand to observe specimens under UHV condition has grown, along with the advent of the STM technology. The requirment of UHV-STM is especially very high in to study of surface construction of semiconductors and superconducting materials on the atomic scale. In order to improve the STM image quality by keeping the specimen and tip surfaces clean, we have built a new UHV-STM (JSTM-4000XV) system which is provided with other surface analysis capability.

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