Distance dependence of force and dissipation in non-contact atomic force microscopy on Cu(100) and Al(111)

The dynamic characteristics of a tip oscillating in the nc-AFM mode in close vicinity to a Cu(100)-surface are investigated by means of phase variation experiments in the constant amplitude mode. The change of the quality factor upon approaching the surface deduced from both frequency shift and excitation versus phase curves yield to consistent values. The optimum phase is found to be independent of distance. The dependence of the quality factor on distance is related to 'true' damping, because artefacts related to phase misadjustment can be excluded. The experimental results, as well as on-resonance measurements at different bias voltages on an Al(111) surface, are compared to Joule dissipation and to a model of dissipation in which long-range forces lead to viscoelastic deformations

Temperature control in molecular dynamic simulations of non-equilibrium processes

Thermostats are often used in various condensed matter problems, e.g. when a biological molecule undergoes a transformation in a solution, a crystal surface is irradiated with energetic particles, a crack propagates in a solid upon applied stress, two surfaces slide with respect to each other, an excited local phonon dissipates its energy into a crystal bulk, and so on. In all of these problems, as well as in many others, there is an energy transfer between different local parts of the entire system kept at a constant temperature. Very often, when modelling such processes using molecular dynamics simulations, thermostatting is done using strictly equilibrium approaches serving to describe the NV T ensemble. In this paper we critically discuss the applicability of such approaches to non-equilibrium problems, including those mentioned above, and stress that the correct temperature control can only be achieved if the method is based on the generalized Langevin equation (GLE). Specifically, we emphasize that a meaningful compromise between computational efficiency and a physically appropriate implementation of the NV T thermostat can be achieved, at least for solid state and surface problems, if the so-called stochastic boundary conditions (SBC), recently derived from the GLE (Kantorovich and Rompotis 2008 Phys. Rev. B 78 094305), are used. For SBC, the Langevin thermostat is only applied to the outer part of the simulated fragment of the entire system which borders the surrounding environment (not considered explicitly) serving as a heat bath. This point is illustrated by comparing the performance of the SBC and some of the equilibrium thermostats in two problems: (i) irradiation of the Si(001) surface with an energetic CaF2 molecule using an ab initio density functional theory based method, and (ii) the tribology of two amorphous SiO2 surfaces coated with self-assembled monolayers of methyl-terminated hydrocarbon alkoxylsilane molecules using a classical atomistic force field. We discuss the differences in behaviour of these systems due to applied thermostatting, and show that in some cases a qualitatively different physical behaviour of the simulated system can be obtained if an equilibrium thermostat is used

Nanostenciling for fabrication and interconnection of nanopatterns and microelectrodes

Stencil lithography is used for patterning and connecting nanostructures with metallic microelectrodes in ultrahigh vacuum. Microelectrodes are fabricated by static stencil deposition through a thin silicon nitride membrane. Arbitrary nanoscale patterns are then deposited at a predefined position relative to the microelectrodes, using as a movable stencil mask an atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever in which apertures have been drilled by focused ion beam. Large scale AFM imaging, combined with the use of a high precision positioning table, allows inspecting the microelectrodes and positioning the nanoscale pattern with accuracy better than 100 nm

Is atomic-scale dissipation in NC-AFM real? Investigation using virtual atomic force microscopy - art. no. 084017

Using a virtual dynamic atomic force microscope, that explicitly simulates the operation of a non-contact AFM experiment, we have performed calculations to investigate the formation of atomic-scale contrast in dissipation images. A non-conservative tip-surface interaction was implemented using the theory of dynamical response in scanning probe microscopy with energies and barriers derived from realistic atomistic modelling. It is shown how contrast in the damping signal is due to the hysteresis in the tip-surface force and not an artefact of the finite response of the complicated instrumentation. Topography and dissipation images of the CaO(001) surface are produced which show atomic-scale contrast in the dissipation with a corrugation of approximately 0.1 eV, which is typical of that observed in images of similar binary ionic surfaces. The effect of the fast-direction scanning speed on the image formation is also investigated and discussed. © IOP Publishing Ltd

Is atomic-scale dissipation in NC-AFM real? Investigation using virtual atomic force microscopy

Using a virtual dynamic atomic force microscope, that explicitly simulates the operation of a non-contact AFM experiment, we have performed calculations to investigate the formation of atomic-scale contrast in dissipation images. A non-conservative tip-surface interaction was implemented using the theory of dynamical response in scanning probe microscopy with energies and barriers derived from realistic atomistic modelling. It is shown how contrast in the damping signal is due to the hysteresis in the tip-surface force and not an artefact of the finite response of the complicated instrumentation. Topography and dissipation images of the CaO(001) surface are produced which show atomic-scale contrast in the dissipation with a corrugation of approximately 0.1 eV, which is typical of that observed in images of similar binary ionic surfaces. The effect of the fast-direction scanning speed on the image formation is also investigated and discussed. © IOP Publishing Ltd

Localized Ligand Induced Electroless Plating (LIEP) Process for the fabrication of copper patterns onto flexible polymer substrates

International audienceThe "ligand induced electroless plating (LIEP) process" is a simple process to obtain localized metal plating onto flexible polymers such as poly(ethylene terephtalate) and polyvinylidene fluoride sheets. This generic and cost-effective process, efficient on any common polymer surface, is based on the covalent grafting by the GraftFast process of a thin chelating polymer film, such as poly(acrylic acid), which can complex copper ions. The entrapped copper ions are then chemically reduced in situ and the resulting Cu0 species act as a seed layer for the electroless copper growth which, thus, starts inside the host polymer. The present work focuses on the application of the LIEP process to the patterning of localized metallic tracks via two simple lithographic methods. The first is based on a standard photolithography process using a positive photoresist masking to prevent the covalent grafting of PAA in designated areas of the polymer substrate. In the second, the patterning is performed by direct printing of the mask with a commercial laser printer. In both cases, the mask was lifted off before the copper electroless plating step, which provides ecological benefits, since only the amount of copper necessary for the metallic patterning is used

Multiscale model of the manipulation of single atoms on insulating surfaces using an atomic force microscope tip

We present the results of the multiscale modeling of the process of lateral manipulation of a Pd adatom adsorbed on the MgO (001) surface using a noncontact atomic force microscope (AFM) at finite temperature and in real time as a tip moves above the surface. We show that the stochastic motion of Pd adatoms can be controlled by localized forces from an oscillating tip and demonstrate how this can be achieved in practice. The energy barriers for manipulation as a function of tip position in three dimensions above the surface are determined from atomistic calculations and then used in a kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm to determine the evolution of the system at a finite temperature and in real time for a realistic trajectory of the tip, which is in turn governed by a complete numerical simulation of the instrument including the response of the feedback loops. We can then predict the probability of a successful manipulation event for a given procedure. The multiscale modeling technique developed in this work can be used to determine optimum experimental protocols for controlled single-atom manipulation using noncontact AFM. © 2007 The American Physical Society

Microscopic study of a ligand-induced electroless plating process onto polymers

International audienceThe ligand induced electroless plating (LIEP) process was recently developed and thoroughly demonstrated with one of the most used polymers for plating processes: acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). This generic process is based, thanks to the use of diazonium salts as precursors, on the covalent grafting of a thin layer of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) acting as ligand for metallic salts onto pristine polymer surfaces. This strategy takes advantage of the PAA ion exchange properties. Indeed, carboxylate groups contained in PAA allow one to complex copper ions which are eventually reduced and used as catalysts of the metallic deposition. Essentially based on ABS, ABS-PC (ABS-polycarbonate) and PA (polyamide) substrates, the present paper focuses on the role of the polymer substrate and the relationships between the macroscopic properties and microscopic characterizations such as infrared (IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The adhesion strength of the metallic layer deposited via that LIEP process with the bulk polymer substrates was successfully compared with the adhesion of similar copper films deposited by the usual process based on chromic acid etching and palladium-based seed layer, by measuring the T-peel adhesion strength, and by carrying out the common industrial scotch tape test. Lastly, the electrical properties of the deposited layer were studied thanks to a four-point probe and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurement

Multiscale model of the manipulation of single atoms on insulating surfaces using an atomic force microscope tip

We present the results of the multiscale modeling of the process of lateral manipulation of a Pd adatom adsorbed on the MgO (001) surface using a noncontact atomic force microscope (AFM) at finite temperature and in real time as a tip moves above the surface. We show that the stochastic motion of Pd adatoms can be controlled by localized forces from an oscillating tip and demonstrate how this can be achieved in practice. The energy barriers for manipulation as a function of tip position in three dimensions above the surface are determined from atomistic calculations and then used in a kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm to determine the evolution of the system at a finite temperature and in real time for a realistic trajectory of the tip, which is in turn governed by a complete numerical simulation of the instrument including the response of the feedback loops. We can then predict the probability of a successful manipulation event for a given procedure. The multiscale modeling technique developed in this work can be used to determine optimum experimental protocols for controlled single-atom manipulation using noncontact AFM. © 2007 The American Physical Society

A comparison of dynamic atomic force microscope set-ups for performing atomic scale manipulation experiments

We present the results of calculations performed to investigate the process of single-atom manipulation with the non-contact atomic force microscope comparing the two most common experimental set-ups: a conventional large amplitude silicon cantilever and a small amplitude quartz tuning fork. The manipulation of a model system - an oxygen vacancy in the MgO(001) surface by a single vertical approach at a fixed lateral position - is simulated for each set-up using a detailed and realistic atomistic model that accounts for temperature and the tip trajectory, and it is found that both approaches produce the manipulation event in approximately the same way. The behaviour of the tip dynamics and the resulting response of the instrumentation to the manipulation event is studied using a virtual dynamic atomic force microscope that includes a realistic description of noise for each type of set-up. The results of these calculations indicate how a single-atom manipulation can be performed and recognized by each type of experiment. © IOP Publishing Ltd