Open-loop amplitude-modulation Kelvin probe force microscopy operated in single-pass PeakForce tapping mode
Open Access
- 6 October 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Beilstein Institut in Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
- Vol. 12 (1), 1115-1126
- https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.12.83
Abstract
The open-loop (OL) variant of Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) provides access to the voltage response of the electrostatic interaction between a conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe and the investigated sample. The measured response can be analyzed a posteriori, modeled, and interpreted to include various contributions from the probe geometry and imaged features of the sample. In contrast to this, the currently implemented closed-loop (CL) variants of KPFM, either amplitude-modulation (AM) or frequency-modulation (FM), solely report on their final product in terms of the tip–sample contact potential difference. In ambient atmosphere, both CL AM-KPFM and CL FM-KPFM work at their best during the lift part of a two-pass scanning mode to avoid the direct contact with the surface of the sample. In this work, a new OL AM-KPFM mode was implemented in the single-pass scan of the PeakForce Tapping (PFT) mode. The topographical and electrical components were combined in a single pass by applying the electrical modulation only in between the PFT tip–sample contacts, when the AFM probe separates from the sample. In this way, any contact and tunneling discharges are avoided and, yet, the location of the measured electrical tip–sample interaction is directly affixed to the topography rendered by the mechanical PFT modulation at each tap. Furthermore, because the detailed response of the cantilever to the bias stimulation was recorded, it was possible to analyze and separate an average contribution of the cantilever to the determined local contact potential difference between the AFM probe and the imaged sample. The removal of this unwanted contribution greatly improved the accuracy of the AM-KPFM measurements to the level of the FM-KPFM counterpart.Keywords
This publication has 65 references indexed in Scilit:
- Quantifying the dielectric constant of thick insulators by electrostatic force microscopy: effects of the microscopic parts of the probeNanotechnology, 2012
- Open-loop band excitation Kelvin probe force microscopyNanotechnology, 2012
- Dual frequency open-loop electric potential microscopy for local potential measurements in electrolyte solution with high ionic strengthReview of Scientific Instruments, 2012
- Force gradient sensitive detection in lift-mode Kelvin probe force microscopyNanotechnology, 2011
- Imaging Surface Charges of Individual BiomoleculesNano Letters, 2009
- Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy without Bias-Voltage FeedbackJapanese Journal of Applied Physics, 2007
- Reconstruction of electrostatic force microscopy imagesReview of Scientific Instruments, 2005
- Atomic force microscopy modified for studying electric properties of thin films and crystals. ReviewCrystallography Reports, 2004
- Electrostatic force gradient signal: resolution enhancement in electrostatic force microscopy and improved Kelvin probe microscopyNanotechnology, 2003
- Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy of Periodic Ferroelectric Domain Structure in KTiOPO4 CrystalsNano Letters, 2002