Hofmann, Thomas and Welker, J. and Giessibl, F. J. (2010) Preparation of light-atom tips for scanning probe microscopy by explosive delamination. JOURNAL OF VACUUM SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY B, 28 (3). ISSN 1071-1023,
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
To obtain maximal resolution in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy, the size of the protruding tip orbital has to be minimized. Beryllium as tip material is a promising candidate for enhanced resolution because a beryllium atom has just four electrons, leading to a small covalent radius of only 96 pm. Besides that, beryllium is conductive and has a high elastic modulus, which is a necessity for a stable tip apex. However, beryllium tips that are prepared ex situ are covered with a robust oxide layer, which cannot be removed by just heating the tip. Here, the authors present a successful preparation method that combines the heating of the tip by field emission and a mild collision with a clean metal plate. That method yields a clean, oxide-free tip surface as proven by a work function of Phi(expt)=5.5 eV as deduced from a current-distance curve. Additionally, a STM image of the Si-(111)-(7x7) is presented to prove the single-atom termination of the beryllium tip. (C) 2010 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3294706]
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | FORCE MICROSCOPY; WORK FUNCTION; BERYLLIUM; SILICON; VACUUM; atomic force microscopy; beryllium; delamination; field emission; scanning tunnelling microscopy; work function |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 530 Physics |
| Divisions: | Physics > Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics > Chair Professor Giessibl > Group Franz J. Giessibl |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Aug 2020 06:35 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Aug 2020 06:35 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/24789 |
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