ETE444/544 :: Lecture 3

Dr. Mashiur Rahman

AFM molecular recognition
studies
 Chemical Force Microscopy:
General Methodology

Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology

page 619
 Adhesion at the Single-
Bond Level

Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology

page 622
 Lecture 3

ETE444/544 Dr. Mashiur

Rahman
 Scanning Tunneling
Microscope

-Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology Page 327 -

 History
• The principle of electron tunneling was
proposed by Giaever
– I. Giaever: Energy gap in superconductors
measured by electron tunneling, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 5 (1960) 147–148
• He envisioned that if a potential difference
is applied to two metals separated by a thin
insulating film, a current will flow because of
the ability of electrons to penetrate a
potential barrier.
• To be able to measure a tunneling current,
the two metals must be spaced no more
 Principle of STM
The principle of the STM is
straightforward. A sharp metal tip
(one electrode of the tunnel junction)
is brought close enough (0.3–1 nm)
to the surface to be investigated (the
second electrode) that, at a
convenient operating voltage (10
mV–1 V), the tunneling current varies
from 0.2 to 10 nA which is
measurable. The tip is scanned over
a surface at a distance of 0.3–1 nm,
 Compact STM for use in controlled
environments

2000, Toyohashi University of Technology,

Japan
 STM images

Graphite

Guanin
e

Adenosine

Source: BSc & MSc thesis of Mashiur Rahman, Toyohashi University of

Technology
STM images
 Scanning Tunneling Microscope
(STM)
This method uses an
electric current
(tunneling current)
that begins to flow
when a very sharp
tip moves near to a
conducting surface
and hovers at
about one
nanometer away.
• The tip (about the size of a single
atom) sits on a piezoelectric tube.
When you apply voltage to
electrodes attached to this tube, you
can make teensy adjustments to
keep the tunneling current constant
— which also keeps the tip at a
constant distance from the sample
while an area is scanned. The
movement of the piezoelectric tube
is recorded and displayed as an
image of the sample surface.
Binnig et al.’s Design

VT = bias voltage
Ø = average barrier
height (work function)
JT = tunnel current
A = constant 1.025
eV−1/2Å−1.
 STM Operation
• STM for operation in ambient air, the sample is
held in position while a piezoelectric crystal in
the form of a cylindrical tube (referred to as PZT
tube scanner) scans the sharp metallic probe
over the surface in a raster pattern while
sensing and outputting the tunneling current to
the control station.
• The digital signal processor (DSP) calculates the
desired separation of the tip from the sample by
sensing the tunneling current flowing between
the sample and the tip.
• The bias voltage applied between the sample
and the tip encourages the tunneling current to
flow. The DSP completes the digital feedback
loop by outputting the desired voltage to the
constant-current &constant-height
mode

STM can be operated in

either the constant-
current or the constant-
height mode.The
images are of graphite
in air.

Source: Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology by B.

 STM cantilever / tip
• Typically fabricated from
metal wires of tungsten
(W), platinum-iridium (Pt-
Ir), or gold (Au).
• sharpened by
grinding,cutting with a
wire cutter or razor blade,
field emission/evaporator,
ionmilling, fracture, or
electrochemical
polishing/etching
Schematics of a) CG
Pt-Ir probe, and (b) CG
Pt-Ir FIB milled probe
 STM Tips
• The two most commonly used tips
are
– Pt-Ir (80/20) Iridium: tips are generally
mechanically formed and are readily
available. provide better atomic
resolution than tungsten tips.
– Tungsten wire: are etched from tungsten
wire with an electrochemical process.
Tungsten tips are more uniformly shaped
and may perform better on samples with
steeply sloped features.
 Mechanically cut and
electrochemically etched STM tips

A mechanically cut STM tip (left) and an electrochemically etched STM tip
(right),

p.383 Springer Handbook of

Nanotechnology
 Sample should be
conductive
• Samples to be imaged with the STM
must be conductive enough to allow
a few nanoamperes of current to flow
from the bias voltage source to the
area to be scanned.
• In many cases, nonconductive
samples can be coated with a thin
layer of a conductive material to
facilitate imaging.
• The bias voltage and the tunneling
 piezoelectric tube
• If you put electrodes on the opposite
sides of some crystals — quartz or
topaz, for example — and apply a
voltage across the crystal, it will expand
or contract. Any movement of the
crystal in response to a voltage is called
the piezoelectric effect.
• The piezoelectric tube used in the
scanning tunneling microscope is
simply a crystal that expands or
contracts depending upon the voltage
 Scanning electron microscope
(SEM)
• An SEM shoots a beam of electrons at
whatever you’re examining, transferring
energy to the spot that it hits. The
electrons in the beam (called primary
electrons) break off electrons in the
specimen. These dislodged electrons
(called secondary electrons) are then
pulled onto a positively charged grid,
where they’re translated into a signal.
• Moving the beam around the sample
generates a whole bunch of signals, after
which the SEM can build an image of the
surface of the sample for display on a
 Using SEM
SEMs can ferret out quite a bit of information
about the sample:
• Topography: surface features such as
texture
• Morphology: shape, size, and
arrangements of the particles that
compose the object’s surface
• Composition: elements that make up the
sample (This can be determined by
measuring the X-rays produced when the
electron beam hits the sample.)
 Transmission electron microscope
(TEM)
• It’s a kind of nano-scale slide projector: Instead of
shining a light through a photographic image the
TEM sends a beam of electrons through a sample.
• The electrons that get through then strike a
phosphor screen, producing a projected image:
Darker areas indicate that fewer electrons got
through; lighter areas are where more electrons
got through
• A TEM can achieve a resolution of approximately
0.2 nanometers, roughly the size of many atoms.
• A TEM can produce images that show you just
how the atoms are arranged in a material.