Atomic force microscope films

Overney R M, Meyer E, Frommer J, Brodbeck D, Luthi R, Flowald L, Guntherodt Fl-J, Fu]ihara M, Takano FI and Gotoh Y 1992 Friction measurements of phase separated thin films with a modified atomic force microscope Nature... 

Figure 5 Atomic force microscope images of an aluminum film deposited on ambient (a) and heated (b) Si substrates. The scales are 15 pm x 15 pm (a) and 20 pm x 20 pm (b). The grain size can be clearly observed (Courtesy of M. Lawrence A. Dass, Intel Corporation).

Burnham, N.A. and Colton, R.J., Measuring the nanomechanical properties and surface forces of materials using an atomic force microscope. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A Vac. Surf. Films, 7(4), 2906-2913 (1989). 

Relatively few works considered the tribological properties of plasma-deposited a-C(N) H films. First, considering the coefficient of friction, nitrogen incorporation was not found to strongly modify it. Prioli et al. [93] studied the friction coefficient of a-C(N) H films against a Si3N4 probe in an atomic force microscope, in ambient air. Nitrogen incorporation up to about 10 at.% into the... 

Domke, J. and Radmacher, M. (1998). Measuring the elastic properties of thin polymer films with the atomic force microscope. Langmuir 14, 3320-3325. 

Visual detection of surface layers on cathodes using microscopy techniques such as SFM seems to be supportive of the existence of LiF as a particulate-type deposition.The current sensing atomic force microscope (CSAFM) technique was used by McLarnon and co-workers to observe the thin-film spinel cathode surface, and a thin, electronically insulating surface layer was detected when the electrode was exposed to either DMC or the mixture FC/DMC. The experiments were carried out at an elevated temperature (70 °C) to simulate the poor storage performance of manganese spinel-based cathodes, and degradation of the cathode in the form of disproportionation and Mn + dissolution was ob-served. °° This confirms the previous report by Taras-con and co-workers that the Mn + dissolution is acid-induced and the electrolyte solute (LiPFe) is mainly responsible. 

This value of Aco corresponds to the cholesterol molecule oriented with the hydroxyl group pointing toward the water phase. Atomic force microscope (AFM) studies of cholesterol in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films has shown that there exist domain structures (see Chapter X). This has been found for different collapse lipid monolayers (Birdi, 2003). Different data have provided much information about the orientation of lipid on water (Table 4.1). 

Fig. 4 A Atomic force microscope (AFM) images, projected at 30° for viewing, of non-treated dithiocarbamated polymer film surface (a) and the PST(polystyrene)-grafted surface by UV irradiation through the lattice-patterned projection mask for 5 (fc), 10 (c), and 20 min (d). B Relationship between the average thickness of the PST-grafted layers and UV irradiation time...

Figure 7.13 Atomic force microscope image of the surface of a drying latex film.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has been used to investigate LB film quality and other properties and to obtain sizes and distributions of MC produced within LB films. For example, in an image of a three-layer CuAr film on mica, large pits were evident (9). In a cross-section analysis a stepped drop of 7.5 nm to the substrate was consistent with three monolayers of an M-Ar film ( 2.5 nm per layer). The thickness of LB films can also be obtained in good-quality films by excavating down to the substrate by the AFM tip in contact mode (45,80). 

Gesang, T. Hoeper, R. Possart, W., Petermann, J. Hennemann, O. D. Adsorption and Growth of Dip-Coating Prepolymer Films on Silicon Wafers. An Atomic Force Microscope Study. Appl. Surf. Sci. 1997, 115, 10-22. 

For few micrometer or sub-micron sized electrodes, an afm (atomic force microscope) is the only tool for contacting. Hereby a conductively coated cantilever of the afm is used to contact the top electrode and also to scan the sample surface to retrieve a topographic image to find the top electrode position. But when we look at afm measurements of sub-micron capacitors, we sometimes face hysteresis loops with strangely increased coercive voltages of e.g. 10 Volts, at a film thickness of e.g. 170 nm (Figure 17.7). 

The nature of structural orders in the PQT-12 thin films can be further characterized by atomic-force microscopic (AFM) analysis. Figure 4.10 shows the AFM phase images of a 20-nm PQT-12 film on an OTS-8-modified wafer surface before... 

The uniformity of such an OVPD film of Alq3 is shown in Fig. 9.6. Analysis by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) confirmed the surface was smooth across the entire substrate area with thickness deviation of +1.7%, a standard deviation, a, of 1.0% only. Atomic force microscopic analysis of such a typical film revealed RMS values to be 6 A, i.e. thickness differences in the range of a single monolayer only, irrespective of deposition rate [20-22]. 

Fig. 3. Atomic force microscopic images of adsorption films of second generation dendrons before and after annealing for 2h at 40 °C. (a) Carboxylic acid-focal poly(phenylene sulfide) dendron. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [81], 2005, The Society of Polymer Science, Japan, (b) Amine-focal poly(benzylether) dendron. Reprinted from Ref. [82]. Schematic illustration of molecular arrangements on substrates is included in (a).

Fig. 4. Monolayers of poly(3,5-bis(3,5-bis(benzyloxy)benzyloxy)benzyl methacry-late)-block-poly-(2-perfluorooctylethyl acrylate) (left) and its hybrid with per-fluorooctadecanoic acid at [polymer] [Ci7F35COOH] =1 4 (right), (a) Atomic force microscopic (AFM) images of LB films (b) depth vs. scattering length density (SLD) profiles of Langmuir films (c) schematic illustration of molecular arrangements on water subphase. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [86], 2004, The Materials Research Society of Japan Ref. [87], 2006, American Scientific Publishers.

LB films of five new hybrid dimethyidioctadecylammonium/heteropolyanions DODA/HPA (HPA=[PZ(H20)M0 03,], Z=Co, Cu, Mn, Zn, Ni) were prepared and characterized by it-A isotherms, UV-Vis absorption spectra, IR spectra, small-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXD), and atomic force microscope (AFM). The results show that these compounds have good film-forming property on the air-water interface. The collapse pressure of LB films is 28.7-37.5mN/m. The area per molecule is 28.18-49.07 nm mol". The LB films have lamellar structures in which the monolayers of the heteropolyanions alternate with bilayers of DODA to form centrally symmetrical LB films. 

Tang SK, Vassiliev VY, Mridha S, Chan LH. Investigation of borophosphosilicate glass roughness and planarization with the atomic force microscope technique. Thin Solid Films 1999 l-2 77-84. 

Figure 1.3. (A) Photographs of silver island films (SIFs) deposited onto glass and plastic supports. (B) Normalized absorbance of zinc, copper, gold and silver nanostructured particles on a glass support. Atomic force microscope images of SIFs on (C) glass (D) plastic support.

Fig. 8.6. Atomic force microscope images of a calcined octadecyltrimethoxysilane mono-layer on silicon (a) and similar monolayers incorporating octadecylsulphonate as a template at 11 mole % (b) and 25 mole % (c) in the film. The pure film gave atomically flat surfaces within micron sized areas. The octadecylsulphonate templated films gave molecular level pores with 11 % template but much larger pores at 25% template.

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