One-step Fabrication of Sharp Platinum/Iridium Tips via Amplitude-Modulated Alternating-Current Electropolishing

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Nishiwaki, Yuto, Utsunomiya, Toru, Kurokawa, Shu, Ichii, Takashi
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Nishiwaki, Yuto
Utsunomiya, Toru
Kurokawa, Shu
Ichii, Takashi
author_facet Nishiwaki, Yuto
Utsunomiya, Toru
Kurokawa, Shu
Ichii, Takashi
contents The platinum/iridium (Pt/Ir) alloy tip for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) was fabricated by amplitude-modulated alternating-current (AC) electropolishing. The clean tips with a radius of curvature less than 100 nm were reproducibly obtained by applying the sinusoidal voltage in the frequency ($f_0$) of $900\ \mathrm{Hz} \leq f_0 \leq 1500\ \mathrm{Hz}$ with amplitude modulation by the sinusoidal wave in the modulation frequency ($f_s$) of $f_s=0.1f_0$ in $\mathrm{CaCl}_2$/$\mathrm{H_2O}$/acetone solution. The analyses by scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM-EDX) and atom probe tomography (APT) showed that a uniform Pt/Ir alloy was exposed on the tip surface as a clean surface without O or Cl contamination. The STM imaging using the fabricated tip showed that it is more suitable for investigating rough surfaces than conventional as-cut tips and applicable for atomic-resolution imaging. Furthermore, we applied the fabricated tip to qPlus AFM analysis in liquid and showed that it has atomic resolution in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Therefore, it is concluded that the amplitude-modulated AC etching method reproducibly provides sharp STM/AFM tips capable of both atomic resolution and large-area analyses without complex etching setups.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_01198
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle One-step Fabrication of Sharp Platinum/Iridium Tips via Amplitude-Modulated Alternating-Current Electropolishing
Nishiwaki, Yuto
Utsunomiya, Toru
Kurokawa, Shu
Ichii, Takashi
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Chemical Physics
The platinum/iridium (Pt/Ir) alloy tip for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) was fabricated by amplitude-modulated alternating-current (AC) electropolishing. The clean tips with a radius of curvature less than 100 nm were reproducibly obtained by applying the sinusoidal voltage in the frequency ($f_0$) of $900\ \mathrm{Hz} \leq f_0 \leq 1500\ \mathrm{Hz}$ with amplitude modulation by the sinusoidal wave in the modulation frequency ($f_s$) of $f_s=0.1f_0$ in $\mathrm{CaCl}_2$/$\mathrm{H_2O}$/acetone solution. The analyses by scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM-EDX) and atom probe tomography (APT) showed that a uniform Pt/Ir alloy was exposed on the tip surface as a clean surface without O or Cl contamination. The STM imaging using the fabricated tip showed that it is more suitable for investigating rough surfaces than conventional as-cut tips and applicable for atomic-resolution imaging. Furthermore, we applied the fabricated tip to qPlus AFM analysis in liquid and showed that it has atomic resolution in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Therefore, it is concluded that the amplitude-modulated AC etching method reproducibly provides sharp STM/AFM tips capable of both atomic resolution and large-area analyses without complex etching setups.
title One-step Fabrication of Sharp Platinum/Iridium Tips via Amplitude-Modulated Alternating-Current Electropolishing
topic Materials Science
Applied Physics
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.01198