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Investigation of the electrostatic forces in scanning probe microscopy at low bias voltages
Author(s) -
Patil Shivprasad,
Dharmadhikari C. V.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.1180
Subject(s) - cantilever , graphite , highly oriented pyrolytic graphite , biasing , electrostatic force microscope , non contact atomic force microscopy , voltage , scanning probe microscopy , substrate (aquarium) , chemistry , optics , atomic force acoustic microscopy , sample (material) , pyrolytic carbon , nanotechnology , materials science , conductive atomic force microscopy , atomic force microscopy , magnetic force microscope , physics , composite material , oceanography , magnetization , quantum mechanics , pyrolysis , magnetic field , organic chemistry , chromatography , geology
The electrostatic force between a gold tip and an atomically flat highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate has been measured as a function of tip– sample separation distance for low bias voltages (<1 v). The experiments involve phase‐sensitive detection of the reflected laser beam off a stiff oscillating cantilever as it approaches the sample. The results are compared with the theoretical model in which the tip– sample geometry is described by confocal hyperboloids of revolution. The general behaviour of the force curve was found to be in agreement with theoretical expectations only for distances of >600 Å. The deviations at smaller distances probably could be due to extraneous material such as graphite nanoflakes or a conducting liquid column present between tip and sample. The results have direct bearing on understanding the interaction forces in scanning probe microscopy techniques in which tip– sample junctions are biased. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.