Impact of GaAs(100) surface preparation on EQE of AZO/Al₂O₃/p-GaAs photovoltaic structures

• Piotr Caban,
• Rafał Pietruszka,
• Jarosław Kaszewski,
• Monika Ożga,
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Piotr Kuźmiuk,
• Katarzyna Gwóźdź,
• Ewa Płaczek-Popko,
• Krystyna Lawniczak-Jablonska and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 578–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.48

• /interface needs to be properly prepared. In the experiments described here we examined eight different paths of GaAs surface treatment (cleaning, etching, passivation) which resulted in different external quantum efficiency (EQE) values of the tested photovoltaic (PV) cells. Atomic force microscopy (AFM

• performed with 2 kV Ar+ ions. Results and Discussion Examination of the devices by SEM and AFM Figure 3 and Figure 4 present AFM images of the surface of the devices (left side), top-view SEM images (right side), and SEM cross-section images (inset on the right) of the analyzed samples from the A series and

• B series, respectively. From the AFM results shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, one can see that A1, A2, A4, B1, and B4 samples exhibit uniform surfaces by the means of polycrystalline thin film topography. By taking into consideration the roughness of the surfaces (RMS was measured for an area of 4

Local stiffness and work function variations of hexagonal boron nitride on Cu(111)

• Abhishek Grewal,
• Yuqi Wang,
• Matthias Münks,
• Klaus Kern and
• Markus Ternes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 559–565, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.46

• non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) to study h-BN on Cu(111). This template has interesting properties because the dielectric layer is only very weakly bound to the metal and shows an electronically induced Moiré superstructure [25][26]. First STM studies on this system pointed to only a

• buckling perpendicular to the surface. Interestingly, this is in contrast to measurements by Schwarz et al. who used a more local analysis of the corrugation by exploiting nc-AFM concluding an absolute height difference of 0.3–0.7 Å between “rim” and “valley” sites of the spatially corrugated monolayer [26

• ]. Results and Discussion STM/AFM on h-BN/Cu(111) As illustrated in Figure 1a, we employ nc-AFM to probe the electronic and topographic structure of a monolayer of h-BN on a Cu(111) surface. Figure 1b shows a typical large-scale constant-current STM scan of this structure. We observe the monolayer growing

Influence of electrospray deposition on C₆₀ molecular assemblies

• Antoine Hinaut,
• Sebastian Scherb,
• Sara Freund,
• Zhao Liu,
• Thilo Glatzel and
• Ernst Meyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 552–558, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.45

• method can yield single isolated molecules accompanied by surface modifications. Keywords: alkali halide; Au(111); bulk insulator; C60; electrospray; electrospray deposition; fullerene; high-vacuum electrospray deposition (HV-ESD); molecular assembly; nc-AFM; NiO; single molecule; thermal evaporation

• microscope (nc-AFM) working at room temperature to study formation and shape of C60 islands on three substrates with different intrinsic properties. These are, first, Au(111), a metal surface widely used in SPM studies, second, KBr(001), a bulk insulator allowing for the decoupling of molecular species and

• used as model surface in nc-AFM measurements [31][32][33][34], and, finally, NiO(001), a p-type wide-bandgap metal oxide with potential applications in photovoltaics [35][36][37]. For all cases, we show the typical C60 structures formed by TE and compare these with the results from HV-ESD. This allows

Determining amplitude and tilt of a lateral force microscopy sensor

• Oliver Gretz,
• Alfred J. Weymouth,
• Thomas Holzmann,
• Korbinian Pürckhauer and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 517–524, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.42

• atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a non-contact atomic force microscopy technique where the frequency shift (Δf) of an oscillating tip is detected [1]. The frequency shift is a measure of the total force gradient acting on the tip, which includes both long-range and short-range contributions. A typical

• experimental setup is to study an isolated surface feature, for instance, a defect or an adsorbate, on a flat terrace. In case of “normal” AFM, where the tip oscillates perpendicular to the surface, long-range forces including electrostatic and van der Waals forces contribute to the measured Δf signal, which

• setup) or biaxial AFM with normal force detection is required. Experimentally, there are several methods for performing frequency-modulation lateral force microscopy, what we refer to as LFM in this manuscript. In 2002, Pfeiffer and co-workers excited a silicon cantilever in the first torsional mode [4

Boosting of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution via chlorine doping of polymeric carbon nitride

• Malgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Michalina Kijaczko,
• Wojciech Kukulka,
• Daria Baranowska,
• Martyna Baca,
• Beata Zielinska and
• Ewa Mijowska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 473–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.38

• , carbon, oxygen, and chlorine in Cl-PCN was performed and showed homogeneous distribution of all elements in the sample. As analyzed via atomic force microscopy (AFM, Figure 2a and Figure 2b) the as-prepared PCN aggregated as large sheets with thickness ranging from 1 to 4 nm (corresponding to 3–11 atomic

• packing motif of the tri-s-triazine units. The shift from 27.38° to 27.30° is caused by the increased internal distance of PCN by Cl doping, which is in good agreement with AFM data and suggests that Cl is located at the interlayers of carbon nitride. Moreover, the XRD and FTIR analyses confirmed that the

• energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) elemental mappings of N, C, O, and Cl in Cl-PCN (f). AFM images and height profile of PCN (a, b) and Cl-PCN (c, d). (a) FTIR spectra and (b) XRD patterns of PCN and Cl-PCN. C 1s and N 1s XPS spectra of polymeric carbon nitride (a, b) and Cl-PCN (c, d). Structure

Reconstruction of a 2D layer of KBr on Ir(111) and electromechanical alteration by graphene

• Zhao Liu,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Stefan Peeters,
• Sebastian Scherb,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Maria Clelia Righi and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 432–439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.35

• reduced by the decoupling effect of graphene, thus yielding different electrical and mechanical properties of the top KBr layer. Keywords: DFT; graphene; Ir(111); KBr; KPFM; nc-AFM; surface reconstruction; Introduction Many two-dimensional (2D) materials have excellent optical, mechanical

• with unconventional stoichiometries have been observed indirectly on graphene surfaces [37]. Here, we report on the formation of irregularly shaped KBr islands with corrugated stripe structures, observed on the (111) surface of Ir and analyzed by non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) at room

• the iridium terraces. Figure 1a shows a large-scale topography image of a KBr island on Ir(111) measured by nc-AFM at room temperature. The monoatomic steps between the Ir terraces have a height of 235 pm as expected for Ir(111). The KBr islands are monolayers with an average height of 340 pm under

Exploring the fabrication and transfer mechanism of metallic nanostructures on carbon nanomembranes via focused electron beam induced processing

• Christian Preischl,
• Linh Hoang Le,
• Elif Bilgilisoy,
• Armin Gölzhäuser and
• Hubertus Marbach

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 319–329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.26

• transfer process, AFM measurements were done before and after the transfer. In Figure 5a and Figure 5b, SEM and AFM images, respectively, of five different iron structures are depicted. One larger structure, which acts as a marker structure (the same one as in Figure 4a), and four 2 × 2 µm2 squares can be

• seen. The structures are distributed over an area of 50 × 40 µm2.The marker structure (7 × 5 µm2) is the largest transferred iron structure. In Figure 5c and Figure 5d SEM and AFM images, respectively, of the same five structures after the transfer onto a bulk SiO2 substrate are depicted. The large

• AFM experiments were performed with a JPK NanoWizard 4 by using non-contact mode. Cross-linking of SAMs into CNMs was achieved by using electron flood guns employing 100 eV electrons and an electron dose of 60 mC/cm2. Before starting the transfer process, the cross-linked CNMs were spin coated with a

Gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbene precursors for focused electron beam-induced deposition

• Cristiano Glessi,
• Aya Mahgoub,
• Cornelis W. Hagen and
• Mats Tilset

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 257–269, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.21

• and some volatile fragments. The technique has been employed in applications such as the fabrication of nanoconnectors [5], extreme ultra-violet lithography (EUVL) mask repair [6], AFM probe tips [7][8][9], nanodevices for plasmonics [10], gas sensors [11][12], optoelectronics [13], and magnetic [14

The nanomorphology of cell surfaces of adhered osteoblasts

• Christian Voelkner,
• Mirco Wendt,
• Regina Lange,
• Max Ulbrich,
• Martina Gruening,
• Susanne Staehlke,
• Barbara Nebe,
• Ingo Barke and
• Sylvia Speller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 242–256, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.20

• signal is a force, pressure is applied to the sample. This is the case when using atomic force microscopy (AFM), giving rise to substantially depressed apparent heights on living and fixed cells [17]. Typically, mammalian cells exhibit Young's moduli in the range of 1 to 10 kPa while AFM probe pressures

• may correspond to ca. 10 MPa, assuming 1 nN loading force and 5 nm tip radius. Though the resulting artificial depression depths on the cellular membranes are about half a micrometer already at 1 nN, AFM is useful to measure the cortical actin network underneath the membrane [18]. Regarding the

• room temperature. Measurement principle and data preparation Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed using a field-emission SEM (Gemini Supra 25, Zeiss) at 1 keV electron energy without Au coating. For SICM a commercial AFM/SICM setup (NX-bio, Park Systems, Korea) with a live-cell chamber (5

Mapping the local dielectric constant of a biological nanostructured system

• Wescley Walison Valeriano,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro Andrade,
• Juan Pablo Vasco,
• Angelo Malachias,
• Bernardo Ruegger Almeida Neves,
• Paulo Sergio Soares Guimarães and
• Wagner Nunes Rodrigues

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 139–150, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.11

• sample and the conductive substrate need to be present within the AFM image. This is a key condition since the conductive substrate establishes a reference level in the analysis. Having both in the imaged region guarantees that the cantilever amplitude and, consequently, the effective radius of the tip

• will be the same for different materials, which is critical for the applied capacitance model [29]. Also, having the conductive surface and the sample in the same AFM image guarantees the precision in the determination of the thickness of the sample. Wing sample preparation for SEM In order to study

• h is directly determined via AFM imaging. The microscope control software also determines the resonance frequency f0 and the elastic constant K of the cantilever using the thermal tune method [30][31]. A critical parameter is the tip–sample distance z, that consists of the height Hlift plus the

Correction: Extracting viscoelastic material parameters using an atomic force microscope and static force spectroscopy

• Cameron H. Parvini,
• M. A. S. R. Saadi and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 137–138, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.10

• microscopy (AFM); creep; force mapping; indentation; Kelvin–Voigt; static force spectroscopy (SFS); viscoelasticity; In the “Useful Viscoelastic Quantities” section of the original publication, it is stated that the storage modulus (E′) and storage compliance (J′) are inverses of one another (Equation 10

Fusion of purple membranes triggered by immobilization on carbon nanomembranes

• René Riedel,
• Natalie Frese,
• Fang Yang,
• Martin Wortmann,
• Raphael Dalpke,
• Daniel Rhinow,
• Norbert Hampp and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 93–101, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.8

• histidine-tag at the extracellular side of a PM mutant (c-His PM). The functionalization and the resulting hybrid membrane were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and infrared

• Sphera electron analyzer with a resolution of 0.9 eV and an emission angle of 20°. AFM measurements were performed with a Bruker NanoScope® V system (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA) in PeakForce mode using a PicoForce scanner for 50 × 50 µm2 topographical pictures. A Multimode 8 10364EVLR scanner

• samples were subsequently washed with 200 µL distilled water and dried in a nitrogen flow. For each sample the topography of a 50 × 50 µm2 area was investigated by AFM to evaluate substrate coverage. It has been shown that the WT PM patches do not form a continuous monolayer, but rather separately

Numerical analysis of vibration modes of a qPlus sensor with a long tip

• Kebei Chen,
• Zhenghui Liu,
• Yuchen Xie,
• Chunyu Zhang,
• Gengzhao Xu,
• Wentao Song and
• Ke Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 82–92, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.7

• and fq in the in-phase mode (Figure 3 and Figure 6). We found a 0.05 mm tip has the best performance when the tip length is 0.65 mm in the anti-phase mode. However, Ax/Az in the anti-phase mode is 2.36, that is, φ is 23°. In frequency modulation-atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM), the frequency shift Δf

• than that of any tip with another diameter. Thus, 0.1 mm would be the best choice for the tip diameter. The last crucial factor to be considered is the Q factor. Lower Q factors will result in lower stability for both FM-AFM and amplitude modulation AFM (AM-AFM) [17]. As shown in Figure 9, the Q factor

Bulk chemical composition contrast from attractive forces in AFM force spectroscopy

• Dorothee Silbernagl,
• Media Ghasem Zadeh Khorasani,
• Natalia Cano Murillo,
• Anna Maria Elert and
• Heinz Sturm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 58–71, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.5

• of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the measurement of physical properties at sub-micrometer resolution. Methods such as force–distance curves (FDCs) or dynamic variants (such as intermodulation AFM (ImAFM)) are able to measure mechanical properties (such as the local stiffness, kr) of nanoscopic

• heterogeneous materials. For a complete structure–property correlation, these mechanical measurements are considered to lack the ability to identify the chemical structure of the materials. In this study, the measured attractive force, Fattr, acting between the AFM tip and the sample is shown to be an

• material phases based on AFM topography. Additional chemical characterization on the nanoscale is performed by an AFM/infrared-spectroscopy hybrid method. Mechanical properties (kr) and attractive forces (Fattr) are calculated and a structure–property correlation is obtained by a manual principle component

Atomic layer deposited films of Al₂O₃ on fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes: stability and barrier properties

• Hana Krýsová,
• Michael Neumann-Spallart,
• Hana Tarábková,
• Pavel Janda,
• Ladislav Kavan and
• Josef Krýsa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 24–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.2

• 7.2). Chronoamperometric measurements were performed in buffered solution (pH 7.2) at −1.2 V (vs Ag/AgCl). The morphology of the films was characterized ex situ, under ambient conditions, by atomic force microscopy (AFM, Dimension Icon, Bruker, USA) in a semicontact (tapping) mode. A silicon

• cantilever (TESPA-V2) with a resonant frequency fres of approx. 300 kHz, a spring constant k of 0.42 N·m−1, and a nominal tip radius of 8 nm (Bruker, USA) was employed. The Gwyddion software (v. 2.53) was utilized for processing AFM image data. Results and Discussion AFM was used to compare the morphology of

• deposited Al2O3. The height-density distribution (Figure S2, Supporting Information File 1), calculated from the AFM topography images (Figure 1), shows that the deposition of Al2O3 onto FTO substrates does not change its surface morphology. Calculated RMS (root mean square) values for AFM images of FTO and

Nanomechanics of few-layer materials: do individual layers slide upon folding?

• Ronaldo J. C. Batista,
• Rafael F. Dias,
• Ana P. M. Barboza,
• Alan B. de Oliveira,
• Taise M. Manhabosco,
• Thiago R. Gomes-Silva,
• Matheus J. S. Matos,
• Andreij C. Gadelha,
• Cassiano Rabelo,
• Luiz G. L. Cançado,
• Ado Jorio,
• Hélio Chacham and
• Bernardo R. A. Neves

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1801–1808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.162

• methods; atomic force microscopy (AFM); molecular dynamics (MD); Raman spectroscopy; nanostructured materials; Introduction Layered materials such as graphite, talc, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), held together by strong covalent bonds within layers and relatively weak van der Waals

• material where it folds over itself during the exfoliation process. Our method is based on AFM measurements of the geometry and mechanical response of folded edges, and on the fitting of the experimental data by an analytical continuum model parameterized solely by α, κ, and the total thickness d of the

• deposited on a substrate exhibits a cross-section geometry similar to that indicated in Figure 1 (see, for instance, Wang et al. [12] for electron microscopy images). Figure 1a shows an AFM image of a talc flake (green shades) with a thickness of approximately 2.4 nm (corresponding to two layers), which was

Mapping of integrated PIN diodes with a 3D architecture by scanning microwave impedance microscopy and dynamic spectroscopy

• Rosine Coq Germanicus,
• Peter De Wolf,
• Florent Lallemand,
• Catherine Bunel,
• Serge Bardy,
• Hugues Murray and
• Ulrike Lüders

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1764–1775, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.159

• complete parametric investigation, is performed with a dynamic spectroscopy method. The results emphasize the strong impact, in terms of distinction and location, of the applied bias on the local sMIM measurements for both FEOL and BEOL layers. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); DataCube; doping

• crucial to optimize and increase the device integration. In order to map the electrical properties of microelectronic materials with a high spatial resolution, scanning probe microscopy (SPM), based on atomic force microscopy (AFM), offers several modes based on the control of electrical conduction and on

• and with the spatial resolution of AFM [17][19]. However, there are limits to the SCM and SSRM techniques. For example, for SCM, when the local carrier concentration is extremely low, the SCM signal may be undetectable and close to zero. For SSRM, a very good control of the applied force is necessary

Direct observation of the Si(110)-(16×2) surface reconstruction by atomic force microscopy

• Tatsuya Yamamoto,
• Ryo Izumi,
• Kazushi Miki,
• Takahiro Yamasaki,
• Yasuhiro Sugawara and
• Yan Jun Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1750–1756, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.157

• , Himeji, Hyogo 671-2280, Japan Institute for Nanoscience Design, Osaka University, 1-2 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan 10.3762/bjnano.11.157 Abstract The atomic arrangement of the Si(110)-(16×2) reconstruction was directly observed using noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) at 78 K

• between upper and lower terraces, which have not been reported using STM. These findings are key evidence for establishing an atomic model of the Si(110)-(16×2) reconstruction, which indeed has a complex structure. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM); Si

• regarding the atomic structure of the reconstruction that includes both pentagons and step edges is insufficient. In this study, the Si(110)-(16×2) reconstruction will be investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) at 78 K to directly observe the atomic arrangement of the reconstruction. In this work, we

PEG/PEI-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes as delivery carriers for doxorubicin: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation

• Shuoye Yang,
• Zhenwei Wang,
• Yahong Ping,
• Yuying Miao,
• Yongmei Xiao,
• Lingbo Qu,
• Lu Zhang,
• Yuansen Hu and
• Jinshui Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1728–1741, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.155

• (AFM) measurements, different SWCNT dispersions (ethanol/ultrapure water = 1:1) with a concentration of 0.01% were dripped on freshly cleaved mica and observed using an AFM (Dimension Icon, Bruker AXS). Drug loading and encapsulation efficiency An amount of 50 mg of different SWCNT samples were

• diffraction patterns of the CNTs remain the same after conjugation with PEG and PEI, which indicate that the surface modification will not change the atomic structure of CNTs. The morphology of the different nanocarriers was observed using AFM after deposition on a mica substrate. The raw SWCNTs exhibit large

• : HNO3, d: H2SO4/HNO3; e: CNTs-PEG, f: CNTs-PEG-PEI). AFM images of (A) raw SWCNTs, (B) CNTs-COOH, (C) CNTs-PEG, and (D) CNTs-PEG-PEI. Cumulative release profiles of DOX from different nanocarriers in PBS at (A) pH 7.4 and (B) pH 5.0 (n = 3). Cytotoxicity of (A) different blank carriers and (B) DOX

Application of contact-resonance AFM methods to polymer samples

• Sebastian Friedrich and
• Brunero Cappella

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1714–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.154

• Sebastian Friedrich Brunero Cappella Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.11.154 Abstract Contact-resonance AFM (CR-AFM) has been used in recent years for the measurement of mechanical properties of rather stiff

• materials, such as ceramics or metals, but also of some polymers. Compared with other techniques providing information on the mechanical properties of a sample, notably force–distance curves, CR-AFM has a much shorter acquisition time. This compensates in part the incomplete theoretical understanding of the

• . Keywords: atomic force microscopy; contact resonance; mechanical properties; polymers; wear; Introduction The development of new materials for applications on the nanoscale, such as thin polymer films, demands a reliable determination of their mechanical properties. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a very

Out-of-plane surface patterning by subsurface processing of polymer substrates with focused ion beams

• Serguei Chiriaev,
• Luciana Tavares,
• Vadzim Adashkevich,
• Arkadiusz J. Goszczak and
• Horst-Günter Rubahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1693–1703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.151

• microscopy (AFM) image and the corresponding depth profile for a surface region of the Pt60Pd40/PMMA sample irradiated with He+ FIB at a fluence of 1.0 × 1016 cm−2. It is evident that the irradiation homogeneously lowers the entire irradiated surface to a depth of approx. 80 nm. For convenience, we define

• cm−2, the values of the root-mean-square (RMS) roughness, measured with AFM in the irradiated areas, were approx. 0.7 and 4.4 nm for irradiation with He+ and Ga+ ions, respectively. The RMS roughness value of the pristine sample was approx. 0.6 nm. The irradiation with Ne+ ions also significantly

• of the cells in rows 1 and 2 in Figure 4a and confirmed by AFM imaging in Figure 4b. These effects are attributed to the accumulation of gases from radiolysis at the Au film/PMMA interface and to the pressure that becomes, at a certain fluence and at certain places, sufficiently high to delaminate

PTCDA adsorption on CaF₂ thin films

• Philipp Rahe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1615–1622, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.144

• [27][28][29]. PTCDA molecules were deposited from custom-built Knudsen cells heated to 290–300 °C. Samples were held at room temperature during deposition unless noted otherwise. STM data were acquired at 77 or 5 K using a ScientaOmicron qPlus LT AFM/STM operated by a MATRIX controller and an atom

Detecting stable adsorbates of (1S)-camphor on Cu(111) with Bayesian optimization

• Jari Järvi,
• Patrick Rinke and
• Milica Todorović

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1577–1589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.140

• electronic properties of the material. Assemblies of organic molecules on surfaces have been studied experimentally, for example with X-ray diffraction [4][5], scanning tunneling microscopy [6][7][8] and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [9][10][11]. These methods have a considerable resolution in imaging planar

• shortened as camphor) on the Cu(111) surface. Camphor is an exemplary case of a bulky molecule, which is difficult to image with microscopy. AFM experiments [35] have revealed various different conformers of camphor on Cu(111), which makes it ideal for benchmarking the BOSS method. Our objective is to

• observed in experiments. The adsorption of camphor on Cu(111) has been studied experimentally with AFM by Alldritt and co-workers [35]. In their images, they have observed various different adsorbate structures, which shows that camphor can adsorb on Cu(111) in multiple stable configurations. In the

Fabrication of nano/microstructures for SERS substrates using an electrochemical method

• Jingran Zhang,
• Tianqi Jia,
• Xiaoping Li,
• Junjie Yang,
• Zhengkai Li,
• Guangfeng Shi,
• Xinming Zhang and
• Zuobin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.139

• over a 20 × 20 μm2 area. Before the tests, the Raman spectra were rectified using a standard Si substrate. A Raman intensity peak of 1362 cm−1 for R6G was chosen in the experiment. An atomic force microscopy (AFM) system (Dimension Icon, Bruker, Germany) was employed to detect the two-dimensional and

• that process. As a result, the average diameter of the pores increases as the duration of PEO duration increases. Figure 3 shows AFM images of the arrayed nanopores after fabrication with different treatment times. After 1 min, the nanopore diameter and depth were 0.7 ± 0.25 µm and 0.5 ± 0.16 µm

• 10 min, the nanopore diameter and depth were 7.2 ± 0.3 µm and 5 ± 0.5 µm, respectively, as shown in Figure 3d. Thus, a 10 min treatment time led to the formation of pores with microscale structure. A three-dimensional AFM image of arrayed nanopores after a treatment time of 5 min is shown in Figure

Design of V-shaped cantilevers for enhanced multifrequency AFM measurements

• Mehrnoosh Damircheli and
• Babak Eslami

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1525–1541, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.135

• microscopy (AFM) in soft matter characterization has expanded, the use of different types of cantilevers for these studies have also increased. One of the most common types of cantilevers used in soft matter imaging is V-shaped cantilevers due to their low normal spring constant. These types of cantilevers

• no studies on the static and dynamic behavior of V-shaped cantilevers in multifrequency AFM due to their complex geometry. In this work, the static and dynamic properties of V-shaped cantilevers are studied while investigating their performance in multifrequency AFM (specifically bimodal AFM). By

• dimensions, the optimum V-shaped cantilever that can provide the maximum phase contrast in bimodal AFM between gold (Au) and polystyrene (PS) is found. Based on this study, it is found that as the length of the cantilever increases the 2nd eigenmode phase contrast decreases. However, the base width exhibits