763 research outputs found
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
Investigation of Living Cells in the Nanometer Regime with the Scanning Force Microscope
Membrane structures of different types of cells are imaged in the nanometer regime by scanning force microscopy (SFM). The images are compared to those obtained with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SFM imaging can be done on the outer cell membrane under conditions that keep the cells alive in aqueous solutions. This opens up the possibility of observing the kinematics of the structures that determine the interaction of a cell with its environment. Therefore, STM observations, together with information obtained with the electron microscope, open up new ways of studying the development of biological structures. With the currently possible resolution, the SFM gives access to processes such as antibody binding or endo- and exocytosis, including processes correlated to the infection of cells by viruses
Theoretical Study of Friction: A Case of One-Dimensional Clean Surfaces
A new method has been proposed to evaluate the frictional force in the
stationary state. This method is applied to the 1-dimensional model of clean
surfaces. The kinetic frictional force is seen to depend on velocity in
general, but the dependence becomes weaker as the maximum static frictional
force increases and in the limiting case the kinetic friction gets only weakly
dependent on velocity as described by one of the laws of friction. It is also
shown that there is a phase transition between state with vanishing maximum
static frictional force and that with finite one. The role of randomness at the
interface and the relation to the impurity pinning of the sliding
Charge-Density-Wave are discussed. to appear in Phys.Rev.B. abstract only. Full
text is available upon request. E-mail: [email protected]: 2 pages, Plain TEX, OUCMT-94-
Quantum shot-noise at local tunneling contacts on mesoscopic multiprobe conductors
New experiments that measure the low-frequency shot-noise spectrum at local
tunneling contacts on mesoscopic structures are proposed. The current
fluctuation spectrum at a single tunneling tip is determined by local partial
densities of states. The current-correlation spectrum between two tunneling
tips is sensitive to non-diagonal density of states elements which are
expressed in terms of products of scattering states of the conductor. Thus such
an experiment permits to investigate correlations of electronic wave functions.
We present specific results for a clean wire with a single barrier and for
metallic diffusive conductors.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX, 2 figure
Dynamic image potential at an Al(111) surface
We evaluate the electronic self-energy Sigma(E) at an Al(111) surface using the GW space-time method. This self-energy automatically includes the image potential V-im not present in any local-density approximation for exchange and correlation. We solve the energy-dependent quasiparticle equations and calculate the effective local potential experienced by electrons in the near-surface region. The relative contribution of exchange proves to be very different for states above the Fermi level. The image-plane position for interacting electrons is closer to the surface than for the purely electrostatic effects felt by test charges, and, like its classical counterpart, is drawn inwards by the effects of atomic structure
Landauer Theory, Inelastic Scattering and Electron Transport in Molecular Wires
In this paper we address the topic of inelastic electron scattering in
mesoscopic quantum transport. For systems where only elastic scattering is
present, Landauer theory provides an adequate description of transport that
relates the electronic current to single-particle transmission and reflection
probabilities. A formalism proposed recently by Bonca and Trugman facilitates
the calculation of the one-electron transmission and reflection probabilities
for inelastic processes in mesoscopic conductors connected to one-dimensional
ideal leads. Building on their work, we have developed a self-consistent
procedure for the evaluation of the non-equilibrium electron distributions in
ideal leads connecting such mesoscopic conductors to electron reservoirs at
finite temperatures and voltages. We evaluate the net electronic current
flowing through the mesoscopic device by utilizing these non-equilibrium
distributions. Our approach is a generalization of Landauer theory that takes
account of the Pauli exclusion principle for the various competing elastic and
inelastic processes while satisfying the requirement of particle conservation.
As an application we examine the influence of elastic and inelastic scattering
on conduction through a two site molecular wire with longitudinal phonons using
the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model of electron-phonon coupling.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figure
First-Principles Studies of Hydrogenated Si(111)--77
The relaxed geometries and electronic properties of the hydrogenated phases
of the Si(111)-77 surface are studied using first-principles molecular
dynamics. A monohydride phase, with one H per dangling bond adsorbed on the
bare surface is found to be energetically favorable. Another phase where 43
hydrogens saturate the dangling bonds created by the removal of the adatoms
from the clean surface is found to be nearly equivalent energetically.
Experimental STM and differential reflectance characteristics of the
hydrogenated surfaces agree well with the calculated features.Comment: REVTEX manuscript with 3 postscript figures, all included in uu file.
Also available at http://www.phy.ohiou.edu/~ulloa/ulloa.htm
Electron transport in nanotube--molecular wire hybrids
We study contact effects on electron transport across a molecular wire
sandwiched between two semi-infinite (carbon) nanotube leads as a model for
nanoelectrodes. Employing the Landauer scattering matrix approach we find that
the conductance is very sensitive to parameters such as the coupling strength
and geometry of the contact. The conductance exhibits markedly different
behavior in the two limiting scenarios of single contact and multiple contacts
between the molecular wire and the nanotube interfacial atoms. In contrast to a
single contact the multiple-contact configuration acts as a filter selecting
single transport channels. It exhibits a scaling law for the conductance as a
function of coupling strength and tube diameter. We also observe an unusual
narrow-to-broad-to-narrow behavior of conductance resonances upon decreasing
the coupling.Comment: 4 pages, figures include
Static and dynamic properties of frictional phenomena in a one-dimensional system with randomness
Static and dynamic frictional phenomena at the interface with random
impurities are investigated in a two-chain model with incommensurate structure.
Static frictional force is caused by the impurity pinning and/or by the pinning
due to the regular potential, which is responsible for the breaking of
analyticity transition for impurity-free cases. It is confirmed that the static
frictional force is always finite in the presence of impurities, in contrast to
the impurity-free system. The nature of impurity pinning is discussed in
connection with that in density waves. The kinetic frictional force of a steady
sliding state is also investigated numerically. The relationship between the
sliding velocity dependence of the kinetic frictional force and the strength of
impurity potential is discussed.Comment: RevTex, 14 pages, 6 PostScript figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Variable Curvature Slab Molecular Dynamics as a Method to Determine Surface Stress
A thin plate or slab, prepared so that opposite faces have different surface
stresses, will bend as a result of the stress difference. We have developed a
classical molecular dynamics (MD) formulation where (similar in spirit to
constant-pressure MD) the curvature of the slab enters as an additional
dynamical degree of freedom. The equations of motion of the atoms have been
modified according to a variable metric, and an additional equation of motion
for the curvature is introduced. We demonstrate the method to Au surfaces, both
clean and covered with Pb adsorbates, using many-body glue potentials.
Applications to stepped surfaces, deconstruction and other surface phenomena
are under study.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, REVTeX, submitted to Physical Review
- …