Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

• Hanaul Noh,
• Alfredo J. Diaz and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 579–589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.62

• implemented to break and remove the surface aggregates. As shown in Figure 6, four sets of images containing the topography and the third eigenmode amplitude are consecutively obtained with tapping-mode bimodal AFM. The surface aggregates are visualized as dark regions in the amplitude image and completely

• of the surface aggregates disappeared during C-AFM imaging, due to the use of the stiffer cantilever Multi75E-G (Budget Sensors, force constant k ≈ 2 N/m, setpoint: 10–20 nN) to perform tapping-mode bimodal AFM sequentially with contact-mode C-AFM and noncontact-mode KPFM. The cantilever used for

• correlating the potential and currents in Figure 4 (PPP-CONTSCPt, NanoSensors) has a smaller spring constant (k = 0.5–1.0 N/m) and thus also a weaker torsional stiffness. In general, it is not possible to sustain a repulsive tapping-mode imaging process for the softer cantilever on polymer samples. On the

Advances in the fabrication of graphene transistors on flexible substrates

• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Stella Lo Verso,
• Silvestra Di Marco,
• Vincenzo Vinciguerra,
• Emanuela Schilirò,
• Salvatore Di Franco,
• Raffaella Lo Nigro,
• Fabrizio Roccaforte,
• Amaia Zurutuza,
• Alba Centeno,
• Sebastiano Ravesi and
• Filippo Giannazzo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 467–474, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.50

• collected by tapping mode atomic force microscopy (tAFM) for the LT growth (Figure 1a left) is comparable to the morphology obtained by the ST growth (Figure 1a right). The dielectric thickness and the consequent growth per cycle was determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements performed on an

• conductance, graphene doping and electron and hole mobility. The fabricated devices will represent the platform for the implementation of solid IS-FETs that can be part of a fully flexible, integrated system for sensing and signal processing. a) Comparison between tapping mode atomic force microscopy (tAFM

• material deposited on an Al coated Si wafer; and d) current density leakage through low temperature and standard temperature dielectric materials. a) Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (tAFM) morphology of the PEN surface and b) a schematic representation of the PEN starting substrate. c) tAFM morphology

In-situ monitoring by Raman spectroscopy of the thermal doping of graphene and MoS₂ in O₂-controlled atmosphere

• Aurora Piazza,
• Filippo Giannazzo,
• Gianpiero Buscarino,
• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Antonino La Magna,
• Fabrizio Roccaforte,
• Marco Cannas,
• Franco Mario Gelardi and
• Simonpietro Agnello

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 418–424, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.44

• DI3100 atomic force microscope with Nanoscope V controller working in tapping mode and employing a commercial silicon probe with spring constants of k = 20–80 N·m−1 and oscillation frequencies from 332 to 375 kHz. (a) AFM morphology image and (b) micro-Raman spectra of the as transferred graphene on SiO2

Colorimetric gas detection by the varying thickness of a thin film of ultrasmall PTSA-coated TiO₂ nanoparticles on a Si substrate

• Urmas Joost,
• Andris Šutka,
• Meeri Visnapuu,
• Aile Tamm,
• Meeri Lembinen,
• Mikk Antsov,
• Kathriin Utt,
• Krisjanis Smits,
• Ergo Nõmmiste and
• Vambola Kisand

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 229–236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.25

• swelling is related to the absorption of VOCs (not adsorption). Since AFM is used in tapping mode, it would not be able to show an adsorption layer of gas on the top of sample. However, beside absorption also adsorption of VOCs can take place and the coexistence of adsorption and absorption in our NP-based

• Renishaw micro-Raman set-up equipped with a 514 nm continuous mode argon ion laser, of approximate spectral resolution 1.5 cm−1. The AFM measurements, with the purpose of investigating the thickness of the films before and after exposure to VOCs, were conducted using a Veeco AFM. Typically, the tapping

• mode was utilized in order to provide an optimal performance. OTESPA AFM tips (manufactured by Bruker) were used. To measure thickness of films, they were scratched with stainless steel tweezers and the step height of the scratch was measured. To ensure that only the film was scratched away (and not

Influence of hydrofluoric acid treatment on electroless deposition of Au clusters

• Rachela G. Milazzo,
• Antonio M. Mio,
• Giuseppe D’Arrigo,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Alessandra Alberti,
• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Filippo Giannazzo,
• Corrado Spinella and
• Emanuele Rimini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 183–189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.19

• Si, we expect a more complex scenario due to the stronger interaction between gold and silicon with the formation of quasi-heteroepitaxial layers. Figure 3 reports the morphologies observed by AFM (in tapping mode with a silicon tip of 10–15 nm curvature radius) of Si samples with AuNPs before

Impact of surface wettability on S-layer recrystallization: a real-time characterization by QCM-D

• Jagoba Iturri,
• Ana C. Vianna,
• Alberto Moreno-Cencerrado,
• Dietmar Pum,
• Uwe B. Sleytr and
• José Luis Toca-Herrera

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 91–98, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.10

• using the thermal method. Prior to its use in the AFM fluid cell, the cantilever was cleaned with UV/ozone for 20 min. Once mounted, the system was kept immersed in ultrapure water until stabilization of the deflection signal. Data acquisition was carried out in tapping mode, in order to not disturb the

Surface roughness rather than surface chemistry essentially affects insect adhesion

• Matt W. England,
• Tomoya Sato,
• Makoto Yagihashi,
• Atsushi Hozumi,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Elena V. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1471–1479, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.139

• (Soot-TMOS-FAS17Cl) were estimated from cross-sectional images acquired by a scanning electron microscope (SEM, Phenom Pro Scanning Electron Microscope, Phenom World). The surface morphologies of the samples were either observed using the same SEM system or by atomic force microscope in a tapping mode

Experimental and simulation-based investigation of He, Ne and Ar irradiation of polymers for ion microscopy

• Lukasz Rzeznik,
• Yves Fleming,
• Tom Wirtz and
• Patrick Philipp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1113–1128, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.104

• can be reached for multi-frame secondary ion images. Thereafter, AFM measurements in tapping mode (AFM probe type: ACST soft tapping mode tips without coating from Appnano) on an Agilent 5100 Surface Probe Microscope [51] were carried out inside the different post-bombardment craters in order to

Generalized Hertz model for bimodal nanomechanical mapping

• Aleksander Labuda,
• Marta Kocuń,
• Waiman Meinhold,
• Deron Walters and
• Roger Proksch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 970–982, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.89

• ” or “spectroscopic” techniques. In parametric nanomechanical techniques, the sample properties are deduced from changes in the parameters of a driven cantilever that is oscillating in a (quasi) steady state while interacting with the sample surface. For example, tapping-mode AFM [16][17] (also known

• for the cantilever to reach a steady state defines the acquisition speed, allowing tapping-mode imaging to achieve very high speeds ultimately only limited by the cantilever bandwidth. However, the small number of tapping-mode observables (amplitude and phase) limits the extraction of absolute storage

• and loss moduli, as they cannot be distinguished from changes in indentation depth. In tapping mode, only the ratio of the storage to loss modulus can be measured [10][21][22]. The same limitation applies to many other parametric techniques, such as force modulation [6][7] and other single-frequency

Assembling semiconducting molecules by covalent attachment to a lamellar crystalline polymer substrate

• Rainhard Machatschek,
• Patrick Ortmann,
• Renate Reiter,
• Stefan Mecking and
• Günter Reiter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 784–798, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.70

• reagent (1-[bis(dimethylamino)methylene]-1H-1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-b]pyridinium-3-oxid hexafluorophosphate) and N,N-diisopropylethylamine. Analysis of CPE45 single crystals and nanocrystals by AFM All AFM images of CPE45 nanocrystals and single crystals were recorded in tapping mode on a JPK Nano wizard II

Orientation of FePt nanoparticles on top of a-SiO₂/Si(001), MgO(001) and sapphire(0001): effect of thermal treatments and influence of substrate and particle size

• Martin Schilling,
• Paul Ziemann,
• Zaoli Zhang,
• Johannes Biskupek,
• Ute Kaiser and
• Ulf Wiedwald

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 591–604, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.52

• background subtraction using a reference pattern taken with a blanked electron beam, so that only features caused by the light emitted from the filament of the electron gun are visible on the RHEED fluorescent screen. Following the in situ investigations, ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) in tapping mode

Characterization of spherical domains at the polystyrene thin film–water interface

• Khurshid Ahmad,
• Xuezeng Zhao,
• Yunlu Pan and
• Danish Hussain

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 581–590, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.51

• at 50 °C. The surfaces were rinsed with DI water and dried with clean, compressed air. In certain cases, the surfaces were not rinsed before scanning with AFM. The CA of the water on the PS-coated surfaces was 85 ± 4°. The surfaces were scanned in air using tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM

• Information File 1, Figure S2 and Figure S3. Height images of spherical objects on PS-coated surfaces obtained using (a) contact mode (b) tapping mode at 90% set point ratio. Section analysis of spherical domains imaged in contact mode and tapping mode (shown in Figure 5). (a) Section of spherical domain (1

• ). (b) Section of spherical domain (2). (c) Section of spherical domain (3). The circles show the section of the spherical domain imaged in contact mode while the squares show the section of the spherical domains imaged in tapping mode. (a) Approach and retraction curves for a spherical object. (b

Nanoscale effects in the characterization of viscoelastic materials with atomic force microscopy: coupling of a quasi-three-dimensional standard linear solid model with in-plane surface interactions

• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 554–571, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.49

• materials, all the analyses are based on linear material behaviors that may fall short in the treatment of specific problems. Consider, for example, a tapping-mode experiment, which may involve local stresses and strains that are too large to be treated linearly, or local heating and melting of the sample

• frequency of the periodic sinusoidal sample deformation, which is not well defined in a tapping-mode experiment (see [26] for a discussion of discrepancies between intermittent-contact and contact-resonance viscoelasticity measurements). Furthermore, the spectrum of the force (stress) and displacement

• material is that the interaction of the surface with specific tip geometries becomes more complex. This is illustrated in Figure 10 for an irregular tip with a protrusion interacting in tapping mode with four surfaces having different values of the 2D surface modulus of elasticity. The force curves (Figure

High-bandwidth multimode self-sensing in bimodal atomic force microscopy

• Michael G. Ruppert and
• S. O. Reza Moheimani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 284–295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.26

• principle is used for both actuation and sensing. Recently, the authors proposed two reciprocal self-sensing schemes for tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) utilizing charge sensing and charge actuation respectively [18][19], using a single piezoelectric layer. The proposed techniques enable the

• mount components. In this approach, due to small circuit mismatches, the feedthrough has to be canceled for each mode separately to achieve the best dynamic range which is necessary for tapping-mode AFM. The inherent self-sensing capability of a single piezoelectric layer enables the omission of the

Characterisation of thin films of graphene–surfactant composites produced through a novel semi-automated method

• Nik J. Walch,
• Alexei Nabok,
• Frank Davis and
• Séamus P. J. Higson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 209–219, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.19

• surface. Organised monolayer films obtained in this fashion were then characterised by AFM (Nanoscope III) operating in tapping mode using Veeco cantilevers with silicon nitride tips having a radius of less than 10 nm. Electrostatic LbL deposition Much better results (in terms of adhesion and surface

• in tapping mode using Veeco cantilevers with silicon nitride tips having a radius of less than 10 nm. A typical AFM image of graphene(+)CTAB flakes deposited onto a piece of silicon wafer using LS method is shown in Figure 6. The larger scale image (a) shows a number of irregularly shaped graphene

• image 5 μm; (b) pseudo-3D image of individual graphene flake. (c) Sectional analysis of the image in (a). (a) SEM image of PAH/graphene(−)SDS layer on a silicon surface; (b) EDX spectra recorded on a graphene flake, and (c) an empty space. (a) AFM image (tapping mode) of a PEI/graphene(−)SDS film, and

3D solid supported inter-polyelectrolyte complexes obtained by the alternate deposition of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)

• Eduardo Guzmán,
• Armando Maestro,
• Sara Llamas,
• Jesús Álvarez-Rodríguez,
• Francisco Ortega,
• Ángel Maroto-Valiente and
• Ramón G. Rubio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 197–208, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.18

• ΔV of the bare solid–air interface. Atomic force microscopy AFM measurements were performed in air at room temperature using a Nanoscope III (Digital Instruments, USA) in the tapping mode. A silicon tip, model RTESP (Veeco Instrument Inc, USA), was used for the measurements. The AFM images were

Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

Counterion effects on nano-confined metal–drug–DNA complexes

• Nupur Biswas,
• Sreeja Chakraborty,
• Alokmay Datta,
• Munna Sarkar,
• Mrinmay K. Mukhopadhyay,
• Mrinal K. Bera and
• Hideki Seto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 62–67, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.7

• functions of several variables. Here an iterative process continues and termination occurs when the relative error between two consecutive iterates is below 10−9. Atomic force microscope (AFM) images recorded in tapping mode using Nanonics MultiView1000 with glass tips of about 20 nm diameter, provides in

Nanoscale rippling on polymer surfaces induced by AFM manipulation

• Mario D’Acunto,
• Franco Dinelli and
• Pasqualantonio Pingue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2278–2289, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.234

• means of AFM only after being formed with the same probe working in a lower load regime or in tapping mode. The first nanoripple observations have been reported when operating in the so called ‘contact mode’ (Figure 1), that is with the probe in contact and moved over a given area in a raster-like

A simple and efficient quasi 3-dimensional viscoelastic model and software for simulation of tapping-mode atomic force microscopy

• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2233–2241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.229

• extremely useful in practice. Examples of typical force curves are provided for single- and multifrequency tapping-mode imaging, for both of which the force curves exhibit the expected features. Finally, a software tool to simulate amplitude and phase spectroscopy curves is provided, which can be easily

• modified to implement other controls schemes in order to aid in the interpretation of AFM experiments. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); modeling; multifrequency; multimodal; polymers; simulation; spectroscopy; standard linear solid; tapping-mode AFM; viscoelasticity; Introduction The

• interacting with the Q3D surface model in monomodal tapping-mode imaging (the dashed line is a plot of a Hertzian curve, for reference); (b) illustration of the contributions to the force curve from different concentric-ring surface elements (numbered starting with the element that intersects the tip vertical

Nitrogen-doped graphene films from chemical vapor deposition of pyridine: influence of process parameters on the electrical and optical properties

• Andrea Capasso,
• Theodoros Dikonimos,
• Francesca Sarto,
• Alessio Tamburrano,
• Giovanni De Bellis,
• Maria Sabrina Sarto,
• Giuliana Faggio,
• Angela Malara,
• Giacomo Messina and
• Nicola Lisi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2028–2038, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.206

• analyzed by AFM in tapping mode [55]. Considering the thickness of a monolayer graphene (equal to 0.335 nm), we have t930 °C = 0.9 nm, t1000 °C = 1.3 nm, t1070 °C = 2.1 nm [16]. We plotted the optical transmittance vs the CVD temperature for ethanol- and pyridine-grown films (Figure 5) to gain further

• -ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) with Mg Kα X-ray radiation at 1253.6 eV (VG Escalab MkII Spectrometer). The samples were treated in air at 200 °C for a few minutes before XPS to remove possible organic contaminants. AFM Graphene-films transferred on silicon have been characterized by tapping-mode

• atomic force microscopy (using a Bruker-Veeco Dimension Icon AFM). The images were acquired in tapping mode at 0.5 Hz, using Sb-doped Si cantilevers (Bruker) with resonant frequency around 300 kHz. At least five areas for each sample were measured in order to take into account thickness inhomogeneity

Template-controlled mineralization: Determining film granularity and structure by surface functionality patterns

• Nina J. Blumenstein,
• Jonathan Berson,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Petia Atanasova,
• Johannes Baier,
• Joachim Bill and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1763–1768, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.180

• images were obtained with a commercial Dimension Icon system (Bruker) in tapping mode under ambient conditions. SAM templates were scanned under water in order to exclude the effect of meniscus forces of possible surface adsorbed water films on the topographic measurements. Scanning electron micrographs

Polymer blend lithography for metal films: large-area patterning with over 1 billion holes/inch²

• Cheng Huang,
• Alexander Förste,
• Stefan Walheim and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1205–1211, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.123

• (SEM). SEM images were taken at 10 kV with a LEO 1530 SEM using a secondary electron detector. The SEM images of the metal islands and perforated films were taken at 10 kV using an in-lens detector while the AFM image was taken in tapping mode with a Bruker ICON and a custom-built AFM equipped with an

• plotted as blue line graphs. The representative AFM topography (tapping mode) of the samples is shown in c) and d). Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) and by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung within the

Probing fibronectin–antibody interactions using AFM force spectroscopy and lateral force microscopy

• Andrzej J. Kulik,
• Małgorzata Lekka,
• Kyumin Lee,
• Grazyna Pyka-Fościak and
• Wieslaw Nowak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1164–1175, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.118

• it is easy to bend such a cantilever (one can easily access the end of a cantilever mounted perpendicularly). In our experiments, rectangular cantilevers (micro lever for contact and tapping mode (MLCT), type B) with a nominal spring constant of 0.02 N/m were used. The lateral signal was recorded

Electrical characterization of single molecule and Langmuir–Blodgett monomolecular films of a pyridine-terminated oligo(phenylene-ethynylene) derivative

• Henrry M. Osorio,
• Santiago Martín,
• María Carmen López,
• Santiago Marqués-González,
• Simon J. Higgins,
• Richard J. Nichols,
• Paul J. Low and
• Pilar Cea

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1145–1157, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.116

• experiments employed to study the topography of the monolayers were performed by means of a Multimode 8 AFM system from Veeco, using tapping mode. The data were collected with a scan rate of 1 Hz and in ambient air conditions by using a silicon cantilever provided by Bruker, with a force constant of 40 N·m−1