123,057 research outputs found
Imaging of the Hydrogen Subsurface Site in Rutile TiO2
From an interplay between simultaneously recorded noncontact atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy images and simulations based on density functional theory, we reveal the location of single hydrogen species in the surface and subsurface layers of rutile TiO2. Subsurface hydrogen atoms (Hsub) are found to reside in a stable interstitial site as subsurface OH groups detectable in scanning tunneling microscopy as a characteristic electronic state but imperceptible to atomic force microscopy. The combined atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density functional theory study demonstrates a general scheme to reveal near surface defects and interstitials in poorly conducting materials.Peer reviewe
Phase imaging with intermodulation atomic force microscopy
Intermodulation atomic force microscopy (IMAFM) is a dynamic mode of atomic
force microscopy (AFM) with two-tone excitation. The oscillating AFM cantilever
in close proximity to a surface experiences the nonlinear tip-sample force
which mixes the drive tones and generates new frequency components in the
cantilever response known as intermodulation products (IMPs). We present a
procedure for extracting the phase at each IMP and demonstrate phase images
made by recording this phase while scanning. Amplitude and phase images at
intermodulation frequencies exhibit enhanced topographic and material contrast.Comment: 6 pages, 6 page
Noncontact lateral-force gradient measurement on Si(111)-7×7 surface with small-amplitude off-resonance atomic force microscopy
In this work, the authors report on a quantitative investigation of lateral-force gradient and lateral force between a tungsten tip and Si(111)-(7×7) surface using combined noncontact lateral-force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. Simultaneous lateral-force gradient and scanning tunneling microscopy images of single and multiatomic step are obtained. In our measurement, tunnel current is used as feedback. The lateral-stiffness contrast has been observed to be 2.5 N/m at a single atomic step, in contrast to 13 N/m at a multiatomic step on Si (111) surface. They also carried out a series of lateral stiffness-distance spectroscopy, which show a sharp increase in tip-surface interaction stiffness as the sample is approached toward the surface
Sensing Noncollinear Magnetism at the Atomic Scale Combining Magnetic Exchange and Spin-Polarized Imaging
Storing and accessing information in atomic-scale magnets requires magnetic
imaging techniques with single-atom resolution. Here, we show simultaneous
detection of the spin-polarization and exchange force, with or without the flow
of current, with a new method, which combines scanning tunneling microscopy and
non-contact atomic force microscopy. To demonstrate the application of this new
method, we characterize the prototypical nano-skyrmion lattice formed on a
monolayer of Fe/Ir(111). We resolve the square magnetic lattice by employing
magnetic exchange force microscopy, demonstrating its applicability to
non-collinear magnetic structures, for the first time. Utilizing
distance-dependent force and current spectroscopy, we quantify the exchange
forces in comparison to the spin-polarization. For strongly spin-polarized
tips, we distinguish different signs of the exchange force which we suggest
arises from a change in exchange mechanisms between the probe and a skyrmion.
This new approach may enable both non-perturbative readout combined with
writing by current-driven reversal of atomic-scale magnets
Carbon fibre tips for scanning probe microscopy based on quartz tuning fork force sensors
We report the fabrication and the characterization of carbon fibre tips for
their use in combined scanning tunnelling and force microscopy based on
piezoelectric quartz tuning fork force sensors. We find that the use of carbon
fibre tips results in a minimum impact on the dynamics of quartz tuning fork
force sensors yielding a high quality factor and consequently a high force
gradient sensitivity. This high force sensitivity in combination with high
electrical conductivity and oxidation resistance of carbon fibre tips make them
very convenient for combined and simultaneous scanning tunnelling microscopy
and atomic force microscopy measurements. Interestingly, these tips are quite
robust against occasionally occurring tip crashes. An electrochemical
fabrication procedure to etch the tips is presented that produces a sub-100 nm
apex radius in a reproducible way which can yield high resolution images.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure
Interaction imaging with amplitude-dependence force spectroscopy
Knowledge of surface forces is the key to understanding a large number of
processes in fields ranging from physics to material science and biology. The
most common method to study surfaces is dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM).
Dynamic AFM has been enormously successful in imaging surface topography, even
to atomic resolution, but the force between the AFM tip and the surface remains
unknown during imaging. Here, we present a new approach that combines high
accuracy force measurements and high resolution scanning. The method, called
amplitude-dependence force spectroscopy (ADFS) is based on the
amplitude-dependence of the cantilever's response near resonance and allows for
separate determination of both conservative and dissipative tip-surface
interactions. We use ADFS to quantitatively study and map the nano-mechanical
interaction between the AFM tip and heterogeneous polymer surfaces. ADFS is
compatible with commercial atomic force microscopes and we anticipate its
wide-spread use in taking AFM toward quantitative microscopy
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