Understanding and Manipulating Inorganic Materials with Scanning Probe Microscopes

Abstract

Scanning probe microscopies, such as scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy, are uniquely powerful tools for probing the microscopic properties of surfaces. If these microscopies are used to study low‐dimensional materials, from two‐dimensional solids such as graphite to zero‐dimensional nanostructures, it is possible to elucidate atomic‐scale structural and electronic properties characteristic of the bulk of a material and not simply the surface. By combining such measurements with chemical synthesis or direct manipulation it is further possible to elucidate relationships between composition, structure, and physical properties, thus promoting an understanding of the chemical basis of material properties. This article illustrates that the combination of scanning probe microscopies and chemical synthesis has advanced our understanding of charge density waves, high‐temperature superconductivity, and nanofabrication in low‐dimensional materials. This new approach to studying materials has directly contributed to our knowledge of how metal dopants interact with charge density waves and elucidated the local crystal chemistry of complex copper oxides, microscopic details of the superconducting states in materials with a high superconducting transition Ic, and new approaches to the fabrication of multi‐component nanostructures. Coupling scanning probe microscopy measurement and manipulation with chemical synthesis should provide an approach to understanding material properties and creating complex nanostructures in general.

Nanocrystalline Semiconductors: Synthesis, Properties, and Perspectives

“…One factor driving current interest in nanoparticle research is the perceived need for the further miniaturization of both optical and electronic devices. 9,10 There are practical constraints associated with current technologies; lithographic methods cannot at present be used with a resolution much less than ca. 200 nm.…”

One-dimensional growth of rock-salt PbS nanocrystals mediated by surfactant/polymer templates

“…One-dimensional semiconductor nanoclusters have some special characteristics due to their large surfaceto-volume ratio, quantum size effect, and dielectric confinement effect [1][2][3][4][5][6]. They are expected to exhibit a variety of new spectroscopic features, including sharper absorption spectra, enhanced exciton and impurity binding energies, and modified electron-phonon coupling.…”

Integration of one-dimensional nanostructures with microsystems: an overview

“…[259][260][261] Processes such as choosing a single NW or CNT from an ensemble and alignment of it with respect to contacts, usually in an SEM, constitute fundamental tasks for integration. However, its applications in systems development remain confined to pilot fabrication due to the lack of parallel assembly techniques.…”