Manipulation of gold colloidal nanoparticles with atomic force microscopy in dynamic mode: influence of particle–substrate chemistry and morphology, and of operating conditions

• Samer Darwich,
• Karine Mougin,
• Akshata Rao,
• Enrico Gnecco,
• Shrisudersan Jayaraman and
• Hamidou Haidara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 85–98, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.10

• (FIB) milling technique. The width and depth of the pits are 650 nm and 5 nm, respectively, and the spacing between two adjacent pits is 125 nm. On the patterned surface, the mean direction of motion remains identical (on average), even after a long acquisition time. This stability of the direction of

• the particle movement observed here on the nanopatterned substrates can be attributed to "self-cleaning" of the tip when it crosses the shallow pits. Considering that the pits have only a small influence on the particle direction (Figure 9), which means that all the particles follow the same direction

• deposited onto a silicon wafer. (a) Ordered organization as described in the Experimental section, (b) random distribution. Frame sizes: 3 µm and 1 µm, respectively. As-synthesized Au particles on silicon in ultra-high vacuum. Frame size: 3 µm. AFM image of nanopatterned surface exhibiting Si pits: Frame

The description of friction of silicon MEMS with surface roughness: virtues and limitations of a stochastic Prandtl–Tomlinson model and the simulation of vibration-induced friction reduction

• W. Merlijn van Spengen,
• Viviane Turq and
• Joost W. M. Frenken

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 163–171, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.20

• simulation replicates even the fact that a vibrational amplitude with the frequency of the modulation is visible in the lateral force at high modulation amplitudes (‘wobbling in the pits’), and that its envelope has a correlation with the surface roughness. Only in the simulation these effects are smaller