No Arabic abstract
We are concerned with free energy analysis of the system comprising an AFM tip, water meniscus, and polymer film. Under applied electrostatic potential, the minimum in free energy is at a distance greater than the initial tip--substrate separation in the absence of potential. This equilibrium distance, t_0, mostly depends on the tip bias V and cantilever spring constant k_s, where as variations of t_0 is less pronounced with respect to the dielectric constants, and polymer film thickness. Polarization of water meniscus under the AFM tip appears to be the dominant factor enabling the creation of mechanical work for tip retraction.
We consider an oscillator model to describe qualitatively friction force for an atomic force mi-croscope (AFM) tip driven on a surface described by periodic potential. It is shown that average value of the friction force could be controlled by application of external time-dependent periodic perturbation. Numerical simulation demonstrates significant drop or increase of friction depending on amplitude and frequency of perturbation. Two different oscillating regimes are observed, they determined by frequency and amplitude of perturbation. The first one is regime of mode locking at frequencies multiple to driving frequency. It occurs close to resonance of harmonic perturbation and driving frequencies. Another regime of motion for a driven oscillator is characterized by aperiodic oscillations. It was observed in the numerical experiment for perturbations with large amplitudes and frequencies far from oscillator eigenfrequency. In this regime the oscillator does not follow external driving force, but rather oscillates at several modes which result from interaction of oscillator eigenmode and perturbation frequency.
Artificial diamond is created by exposing graphite to pressures on the order of 10,GPa and temperatures of about 2000,K. Here, we provide evidence that the pressure exerted by the tip of an atomic force microscope onto graphene over the carbon buffer layer of silicon carbide can lead to a temporary transition of graphite to diamond on the atomic scale. We perform atomic force microscopy with CO terminated tips and copper oxide (CuOx) tips to image graphene and to induce the structural transition. For a local transition, DFT predicts that a repulsive barrier of $approx13$,nN, followed by a force reduction by $approx4$,nN is overcome when inducing the graphite-diamond transition. Experimental evidence for this transition is provided by the observation of third harmonics in the cantilever oscillation for relative flexible CO terminated tips and a kink in the force versus distance curve for rigid CuOx tips. The experimental observation of the third harmonic with a magnitude of about 200,fm fits to a force with an amplitude of $pm 3$,nN. The large repulsive overall force of $approx 10$,nN is only compatible with the experiment if one assumes that the repulsive force acting on the tip when inducing the transition is compensated by an increased van-der-Waals attraction of the tip due to form fitting of tip and sample by local indentation. The transition changes flat sp$^2$ bonds to corrugated sp$^3$ bonds, resulting in a different height of the two basis atoms in the elementary cell of graphene. Both tip types show a strong asysmmetry between the two basis atoms of the lattice when using large repulsive tip forces that induce the transition. Experimental data of tunneling current, frequency shift and dissipation are consistent with the proposed transition. The experiment also shows that atomic force microscopy allows to perform high pressure physics on the atomic scale.
We propose a theoretical framework for reconstructing tip-surface interactions using the intermodulation technique when more than one eigenmode is required to describe the cantilever motion. Two particular cases of bimodal motion are studied numerically: one bending and one torsional mode, and two bending modes. We demonstrate the possibility of accurate reconstruction of a two-dimensional conservative force field for the former case, while dissipative forces are studied for the latter.
We present the design and implementation of a scanning probe microscope, which combines electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) and (photo-)conductive atomic force microscopy ((p)cAFM). The integration of a 3-loop 2-gap X-band microwave resonator into an AFM allows the use of conductive AFM tips as a movable contact for EDMR experiments. The optical readout of the AFM cantilever is based on an infrared laser to avoid disturbances of current measurements by absorption of straylight of the detection laser. Using amorphous silicon thin film samples with varying defect densities, the capability to detect a spatial EDMR contrast is demonstrated. Resonant current changes as low as 20 fA can be detected, allowing the method to realize a spin sensitivity of 8*10^6 spins/Hz^0.5 at room temperature.
We use an atomic force microscope (AFM) to manipulate graphene films on a nanoscopic length scale. By means of local anodic oxidation with an AFM we are able to structure isolating trenches into single-layer and few-layer graphene flakes, opening the possibility of tabletop graphene based device fabrication. Trench sizes of less than 30 nm in width are attainable with this technique. Besides oxidation we also show the influence of mechanical peeling and scratching with an AFM of few layer graphene sheets placed on different substrates.