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2015 | Book

Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

Scanning Probe Microscopy

Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

Author: Bert Voigtländer

Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Book Series : NanoScience and Technology

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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About this book

This book explains the operating principles of atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. The aim of this book is to enable the reader to operate a scanning probe microscope successfully and understand the data obtained with the microscope. The chapters on the scanning probe techniques are complemented by the chapters on fundamentals and important technical aspects. This textbook is primarily aimed at graduate students from physics, materials science, chemistry, nanoscience and engineering, as well as researchers new to the field.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
In many areas of science and technology there is a trend toward the nanoscale or even the atomic level.
Bert Voigtländer

Scanning Probe Microscopy Instrumentation

Frontmatter
Chapter 2. Harmonic Oscillator
Abstract
In scanning probe microscopy, vibrations play a central role in several areas. If, for instance, a scanning tunneling microscope is rests on a table you might wonder what this has to do with vibrations.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 3. Technical Aspects of Scanning Probe Microscopy
Abstract
In order to position the probe tip or the sample, piezoelectric elements are used as actuators. The piezoelectric effect was discovered by the Curie brothers in 1880.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 4. Scanning Probe Microscopy Designs
Abstract
Due to the limited range of piezo actuator elements available of only one to several micrometers, it is necessary to use a coarse approach to bring tip and sample into such a close distance that the (tube) scanner can be used for the fine motion (up to several micrometers) during scanning. The task of coarse positioning largely determines the SPM design since nowadays almost all SPMs use a tube scanner for the fine motion. Here we concentrate on the general principles of SPM design and take the STM as an example. Specific aspects concerning atomic force microscopy designs will be discussed later.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 5. Electronics for Scanning Probe Microscopy
Abstract
First we discuss some fundamental issues of electronics, such as voltage divider, low-pass filter, and operational amplifier.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 6. Lock-In Technique
Abstract
A lock-in amplifier measures a signal amplitude hidden in a noisy environment. An AC modulation is used to measure the signal in a very narrow frequency range. Using the lock-in technique the noise can be even much larger than the signal which can nevertheless be measured precisely.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 7. Data Representation and Image Processing
Abstract
Scanning probe microscopy data usually have the form of a matrix where the topography (height) or some other signal such as the tunneling current, or \(dI/dV\) is measured as a function of the lateral \(xy\)-position on the surface.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 8. Artifacts in SPM
Abstract
The ideal tip is a sharp needle which can image surface features with high aspect ratios. If the tip has a broader shape artifacts occur due to a convolution of the tip shape with the surface features. Other kinds of artifacts in scanning probe microscopy include thermal drift, feedback overshoot, piezo creep, and electrical noise.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 9. Work Function, Contact Potential, and Kelvin Probe Scanning Force Microscopy
Abstract
We already used the term work function when we introduced the tunneling barrier height in STM. The work function can be considered as the energy difference between the vacuum level and the Fermi level of a metal. Here we will see that also a surface term contributes to the work function. The work function is a measurable quantity and the operative definition of the work function is that it is the energy required to remove an electron from the bulk Fermi level of a metal to a certain distance from the solid.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 10. Surface States
Abstract
When the electronic structure of (crystalline) materials is described, usually the bulk is considered. Since the STM probes the electronic states at the surface we will now consider also the electronic states at the surface, the surface states. We use the single electron approximation and start with a very brief review of the bulk electronic structure. Then the surface states are discussed in one dimension within the quasi-free electron model. We will see that solutions of the Schrödinger equation with complex wave vectors lead to surface states. While these solutions are not allowed in (infinite) bulk crystals, they are allowed if a surface is present. Finally, we transfer the one-dimensional model qualitatively to three dimensions and discuss the two-dimensional surface states of a three-dimensional solid.
Bert Voigtländer

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

Frontmatter
Chapter 11. Forces Between Tip and Sample
Abstract
One disadvantage of the STM technique is that it cannot image insulating samples since a tunneling current between tip and sample is needed. The idea behind the atomic force microscope (AFM) is to measure the force(s) between the surface and the scanning tip in order to track the surface topography. Before we describe the atomic force microscopy technique in detail, we consider the forces acting between tip and sample.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 12. Technical Aspects of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
Abstract
The design of AFM instruments is in most aspects similar to that used in STM, as discussed in chapter
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 13. Static Atomic Force Microscopy
Abstract
In static atomic force microscopy the force between the tip and sample leads to a deflection of the cantilever according to Hooke’s law.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 14. Amplitude Modulation (AM) Mode in Dynamic Atomic Force Microscopy
Abstract
In dynamic atomic force microscopy the cantilever is excited using a piezo actuator which oscillates the cantilever base. The driving frequency is usually close to the resonance frequency of the cantilever. Due to the interaction between tip and the surface, the resonance frequency of the cantilever changes.As shown in this chapter, an attractive force between tip and sample leads to a lower resonance frequency of the cantilever, while for repulsive tip-sample forces the resonance frequency increases.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 15. Intermittent Contact Mode/Tapping Mode
Abstract
While the previous chapter was aimed at providing a basic understanding of dynamic atomic force microscopy, we turn now to the intermittent contact mode (or tapping mode) which the mode that is used most frequently under ambient conditions.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 16. Mapping of Mechanical Properties Using Force-Distance Curves
Abstract
The imaging modes considered in the previous chapters resulted mainly in topographic imaging. Contours of constant force in the static mode, or constant frequency shift in the dynamic AM mode, or constant amplitude in the tapping mode are measured. In Chap. 13 we have seen that force-distance curves give important information on the mechanical properties of the sample, like elasticity of the sample, adhesion properties and dissipation. The concept behind mapping of mechanical properties by force-distance curves is to acquire a force-distance curve at each image point and to extract images of elasticity, adhesion and other mechanical properties.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 17. Frequency Modulation (FM) Mode in Dynamic Atomic Force Microscopy—Non-contact Atomic Force Microscopy
Abstract
In Chap. 15 we introduced the intermittent contact mode (tapping mode), which is a very successful operation mode in dynamic atomic force microscopy.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 18. Noise in Atomic Force Microscopy
Abstract
In topographic images, the noise in the vertical position of the tip (i.e. the noise in the tip-sample distance) should be considerably smaller than the topography signal on the sample which we want to measure.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 19. Quartz Sensors in Atomic Force Microscopy
Abstract
As an alternative to the most frequently used silicon cantilevers, quartz oscillators can be used as sensors in AFM.
Bert Voigtländer

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy

Frontmatter
Chapter 20. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
Abstract
The problem of the tunneling junction (electrode-gap-electrode) can be treated in different approximations. First we consider a simple wave function matching at a one-dimensional square barrier.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 21. Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS)
Abstract
One of the fascinating potentials of scanning tunneling microscopy is its ability to obtain energy-resolved spectroscopic data with atomic resolution.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 22. Vibrational Spectroscopy with the STM
Abstract
Vibrational spectroscopy provides a fingerprint of the identity of molecular species.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 23. Spectroscopy and Imaging of Surface States
Abstract
The metals Cu, Ag and Au have surface states at their low index surfaces with energies around the Fermi level.
Bert Voigtländer
Chapter 24. Building Nanostructures Atom by Atom
Abstract
The scanning tunneling microscope, initially used to image surfaces down to the atomic scale, has been further developed into an operative tool, with which atoms and molecules can be positioned at will in order to create and investigate artificial structures. In this chapter, we will see that two-dimensional quantum systems can be built and modified, exploiting the ability of the STM to move atoms and molecules on the surface.
Bert Voigtländer
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Scanning Probe Microscopy
Author
Bert Voigtländer
Copyright Year
2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN
978-3-662-45240-0
Print ISBN
978-3-662-45239-4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45240-0

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