Scanning Thermopower Microscopy of Guanine Monolayers

Thermoelectric effect in molecular electronics

“…To our knowledge the only reported measurement of the thermoelectric voltage over a molecule was performed by Poler et al [12]. Using an STM tip they measured the thermoelectric voltage over Guanine molecules on a graphite substrate.…”

“…In fact, Poler et al [12] measured the thermoelectric voltage (with a 20 K temperature difference) over a monolayer of Guanine molecules with an STM. In this paper we also show that the thermoelectric voltage provide information on where the Fermi energy is relative to the molecular levels, e.g., the sign of the thermoelectric voltage over the Guanine molecule indicate p-type conduction.…”

DNA-based thermoelectric devices: A theoretical prospective

“…1 Subsequently, the thermoelectric response of phenyldithiol organic molecules chemisorbed on gold surfaces was theoretically analyzed, and Seebeck coefficient values comparable to those obtained in Poler's experiment were reported. 2 Similar values ͑+22 V K −1 at room temperature͒ have been recently reported on a sample of FeCl 3 -doped polythiophene.…”

Design and construction of a heat stage for investigations of samples by atomic force microscopy above ambient temperatures

“…The experimental techniques of scanning tunneling microscopy ͑STM͒ 1 and atomic force microscopy ͑AFM͒ 2 have, apart from their great usefulness in material sciences in general, 3 proven to be very powerful tools for the investigation of biological material at the molecular level, [4][5][6][7][8] for the study of model systems of biological membranes on length scales over several orders of magnitude, [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and for the direct study of living cells. 18 One of the present limitations to achieving increased knowledge on the behavior of biological molecules in vivo and in vitro by use of AFM or STM is the inability of commercially available microscopes to operate at temperatures different from ambient temperature.…”

“…Several attempts have been made by different investigators to overcome this hurdle. 13,[19][20][21][22] The most direct solution to the problems involved in performing AFM microscopy above ambient temperatures is to change the ambient temperature ͑i.e., to place the microscope in an insulated box͒ and then operate the microscope at the desired temperature after thermal equilibrium has been established. This method has successfully been applied by several groups 19,20,22 to samples studied by AFM at temperatures from 6 K up to room temperature, but has so far been unsatisfactory when studying samples above room temperature.…”