A Novel Approach for Batch Fabrication of Bifunctional AFM-SECM Probes

Author(s):  
Heungjoo Shin ◽  
Peter J. Hesketh ◽  
Christine Kranz ◽  
Douglas A. Rudolph ◽  
Boris Mizaikoff

This paper presents a novel batch fabrication process for manufacturing bifunctional Scanning Electrochemical-Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM-SECM) probes with a recessed integrated ring electrode. The presented tip fabrication procedure enables the integration of a micro ring electrode at a precisely defined distance above the apex of the AFM tip. The electroactive area integrated into a scanning probe tip allows obtaining electrochemical data independently and separated from the topographical image. The tip fabrication is based upon batch processing, which provides bifunctional scanning probe tips on a wafer scale at low cost with high processing reproducibility and uniformity. Electrochemical characterization of an AFM tip-integrated ring electrode and combined electrochemical and topographical imaging using the bifunctional probe are demonstrated in this study.

1993 ◽  
Vol 318 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Kiely ◽  
Dawn A. Bonnell

ABSTRACTScanning Tunneling and Atomic Force Microscopy were used to characterize the topography of fractured Au /sapphire interfaces. Variance analysis which quantifies surface morphology was developed and applied to the characterization of the metal fracture surface of the metal/ceramic system. Fracture surface features related to plasticity were quantified and correlated to the fracture energy and energy release rate.


2003 ◽  
Vol 782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph W. Bullard ◽  
Ryan J. Kershner ◽  
Michael J. Cima

ABSTRACTSingle crystal sapphire substrates were lithographically patterned with a system of parallel platinum electrodes, which were used to manipulate 1.58μm silica particles inplane, in the presence of an aqueous solution. Observation of the motion of these particles revealed the adhesion of some of them to the sapphire surface near the platinum working electrode, even in the range of pH where the zeta potentials of silica and sapphire are of the same sign. This phenomenon suggests the existence of localized differences in pH, attributable to the presence of potential determining ions produced in the faradaic processes occurring at the electrodes during the electrophoretic manipulation of silica particles. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to corroborate this hypothesis, measuring the forces between a silica particle and a sapphire substrate in the presence of an applied field. The resultant force-distance curves demonstrate a change in the interaction forces between particle and substrate as a function of distance from the electrode. Variations in this interaction correspond to localized differences in the zeta potential of the substrate, which, in turn, are related to localized differences in pH. Quantification of these spatial variations in pH as a function of time yields further information about the diffusion of these faradaically produced potential determining ions across the substrate.


Author(s):  
Jorge Caram ◽  
Maximiliano Senno ◽  
Luisa Cencha ◽  
Silvia Tinte ◽  
Raul Urteaga ◽  
...  

Abstract Organo-inorganic perovskites have been intensively studied due to its potential application in low cost and great efficient energy conversion in solar cells. Despite the great improvement in the quality of organo-inorganic perovskite films, a wide dispersion into the same batch of perovskite-based devices keep being an obstacle to obtaining highly reproducible results. For that reason new and efficient strategies for testing deposition results is imperative for the next step. Here we present a simple and efficient procedure for characterizing the optical and morphological properties based on the simultaneous reflectance and transmittance measurements under normal incidence over a MAPbI3 film. The proposed method provides qualitative and quantitative morphological information associated with the film roughness as well as information about the position of the optical gap and possible contributions to the optical dispersion in the structure that can be used as a simple diagnostic tool to optimize the film deposition. Results are contrasted and validated with electronic and atomic force microscopy, as well as first-principles calculations.


2009 ◽  
Vol 1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaella Lo Nigro ◽  
Patrick Fiorenza ◽  
Vito Raineri

AbstractElectrical characterization of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) ceramics with scanning probe based techniques has been carried out. In particular, conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and scanning impedance microscopy (SIM) have been used to demonstrate the presence, shape and size in CCTO ceramics of the different electrically domains, both at the grain boundaries and within the grains. The electrical characteristics of single grains and of single domains have been evaluated and it has been observed that the conductive grains are surrounded by insulating grain boundaries.


Author(s):  
CE Bracker ◽  
P. K. Hansma

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.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Prakash ◽  
Travis Lantz ◽  
Krupal P. Jethava ◽  
Gaurav Chopra

Amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients primarily consists of amyloid beta 1-42 (Ab42). Commercially, Ab42 is synthetized using peptide synthesizers. We describe a robust methodology for expression of recombinant human Ab(M1-42) in Rosetta(DE3)pLysS and BL21(DE3)pLysS competent E. coli with refined and rapid analytical purification techniques. The peptide is isolated and purified from the transformed cells using an optimized set-up for reverse-phase HPLC protocol, using commonly available C18 columns, yielding high amounts of peptide (~15-20 mg per 1 L culture) in a short time. The recombinant Ab(M1-42) forms characteristic aggregates similar to synthetic Ab42 aggregates as verified by western blots and atomic force microscopy to warrant future biological use. Our rapid, refined, and robust technique to purify human Ab(M1-42) can be used to synthesize chemical probes for several downstream in vitro and in vivo assays to facilitate AD research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Wang ◽  
Jianqing Feng ◽  
Lihua Jin ◽  
Chengshan Li

AbstractWe have grown Cu2O films by different routes including self-oxidation and metal-organic deposition (MOD). The reduction efficiency of Cu2O films on graphene oxide (GO) synthesized by modified Hummer’s method has been studied. Surface morphology and chemical state of as-prepared Cu2O film and GO sheets reduced at different conditions have also been investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results show that self-oxidation Cu2O film is more effective on phtocatalytic reduction of GO than MOD-Cu2O film. Moreover, reduction effect of self-oxidation Cu2O film to GO is comparable to that of environmental-friendly reducing agent of vitamin C. The present results offer a potentially eco-friendly and low-cost approach for the manufacture of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by photocatalytic reduction.


Author(s):  
Willian Silva Conceição ◽  
Ştefan Ţălu ◽  
Robert Saraiva Matos ◽  
Glenda Quaresma Ramos ◽  
Fidel Guereiro Zayas ◽  
...  

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Arnaud Millet

The mechanosensitivity of cells has recently been identified as a process that could greatly influence a cell’s fate. To understand the interaction between cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix, the characterization of the mechanical properties of natural polymeric gels is needed. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is one of the leading tools used to characterize mechanically biological tissues. It appears that the elasticity (elastic modulus) values obtained by AFM presents a log-normal distribution. Despite its ubiquity, the log-normal distribution concerning the elastic modulus of biological tissues does not have a clear explanation. In this paper, we propose a physical mechanism based on the weak universality of critical exponents in the percolation process leading to gelation. Following this, we discuss the relevance of this model for mechanical signatures of biological tissues.


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