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Titularul de disciplin:Prof. Dr. Ing. Dan Dasclu

Cerc.st. gr. I, dr. Ing. Mircea Dragoman
Dr. Emil Mihai Pavelescu (IMT).
mircea.dragoman@imt.ro
Cursul 7-Scanning probe microscopy 1

AFM
STM
SNOM
Scanning Probe Instrumentation for Nanoelectronics
AFM
STM
SNOM
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STM technique Physical principle
AFM force detection between a cantilever terminated with a tip
and a surface
STM tunneling current detection of electrons that tunnel from a
nano-sized tip into a surface
SNOM optical intensity measurement due the near field
interactions between a nano-sized aperture and an
illuminated surface
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STM-Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
Basically, STM provides images of surfaces with atomic resolutions and even
images of individual surface atoms. The STM is based on monitoring the
tunneling current between a sharp metallic tip located at nanometric distances
over a conductive sample. When a voltage V is applied between the tip and the
sample, the electrons of energy E tunnel from the tip to the sample through a
vacuum barrier of height | >E

Tip Sample
z
|
E
F

E
F
-V
Tunneling
current
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The tunneling current density at low voltages is given by:
) 025 . 1 exp( ) ( } / )] ( 2 exp{[ ) (
2 / 1
F surf F surf
z E V z E m E V i | | =
) (
F surf
E
is the density of states of the sample at the Fermi edge, z is the
distance between the tip and the sample (the barrier width), and m is
the electron mass.
For a barrier height of 5 eV, the current decreases with one order of magnitude when the
barrier width z is modified with only 0.1 nm. The tunneling current is usually of tens or
hundreds of pA, an amplifier being needed to evidence it. In typical STM mode working
conditions the current variation is about 23%, which means, that the gap varies with
about 0.001 nm.
Practically, in this case the tunneling current is simply the density of states
at the surface, and thus direct topography of the surface with atomic
resolution becomes achievable
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The above considerations are only intuitive and valid in one dimension; in reality the
mapping of a surface via the tip-surface tunneling current is a more complicated
problem, which must be treated in three dimensions. A complete theory of STM
imaging, the so-called Tersoff-Hamann model. The main result of this theory can be
summarized as:
}

+eV E
E
dE E r V I
F
F
) , ( ) (
) ( | ) ( | ) , (
2
i
i
i
E E E r

+ = o r
is the local density of states (LDOS) of the sample
) (r
i
+
the 3D wave-function of the sample at energy E
i
) / /( ) / ( V I dV dI
is proportional to the LDOS of the sample
The Tersoff-Hamann model shows that the tunneling current is fully determined by
the LDOS of the sample at the Fermi edge. This conclusion is valid only if the tip is
very sharp (has a radius of a few ) and is located at a few nm from the sample. Only
under these conditions the tunneling current is confined to a thin filament between
the end of the tip and the surface
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There are two basic modes of STM operation, In the constant current mode the
tunneling current is measured when the tip is positioned near the surface and is suitable
biased in the 5 mV 2 V range. The tip is scanned over the surface and any change in
the tunneling current is sensed by a feedback loop, which then changes, if necessary
the height z such that the current remains constant. Finally, a map z(x,y) is obtained. In
the constant height mode, the tip is scanning the surface at a constant height and the
current is directly measured obtaining finally the map I(x,y)
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Some STM systems operate nowadays at room temperature and in normal
atmospheric pressure, but are accompanied by sophisticated signal processing
units able to calibrate very precisely the entire instrument and to remove the thermal
noise and the hysteresis . Other STM systems work in extreme conditions: low
temperatures (350 mK), high magnetic fields (11 T) and ultrahigh vacuum (UHV)
(1010 Pa). In particular the low-temperature and high-vacuum extreme conditions
offer an exceptionally high resolution and a clean environment for studying
nanomaterials and quantum processes. Single molecules on surfaces, adsorbates,
liquid crystals, DNA sequencing, local density of states of metals, semiconductors,
superconductors, and even of thin insulating films grown on conductive substrates
(for example, metal oxides Al2O3, NiO, FeO) were imaged with the STM at low
temperatures and UHV. STM can also be used to investigate the magnetic
properties of materials with the help of magnetic tips, such as Fe tips. In this case,
spin-polarized tunneling is employed in UHV conditions, the tunneling current being
dependent on the magnetic moment orientation of the tip. There are also many STM
image galleries, one of the richest being that provided by the company who invented
the STM:
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/vis/stm/catalogue.html.
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gold dislocation Quantum corral-the
DOS of Cu(111)
GaAs (110) surface
Carbon nanotube
Si
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As in the case of AFM, the STM can be used to measure ultrafast electrical
signals. In this case, the tip is connected to an optical switch, which is driven in the
ON or OFF state by an optical pulse with a repetition rate 1/f. If the device under
test is excited by a slightly different frequency,f+Af , the waveform of the tunneling
current is the replica of the response of the device under test at f, but extended
with f/Af along the time axis. If Af>f
fb
, where f
fb
is the frequency of the feedback
system, the control of the tip position is not affected by the waveform
measurement. Pulses of ps duration and tens of mV in amplitude can be measured
using this technique.
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STM has also important applications in the study of electrodynamics at the nanoscale. In
this respect, STM can induce photon emission from molecules and thus can be
used as a spectroscopic tool. The photons are emitted from a guest molecule placed
in the gap between the tip and the sample, Several mechanisms of STM-induced photon
emission exist, depending on the characteristics of the surface sample: 1) excitation of
localized surface plasmons on metallic surfaces due to inelastic tunneling, 2) radiative
decay due to inelastic tunneling into surface states on metal and semiconductor states,
and3) luminescence due to electron-hole recombination on semiconductor surface

Guest molecule
Emitted
light
Emitted
light
Tip
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A simple physical model, which explains the photon emission during the tunneling
process, is based on the experimental observation that the conductance (which is
proportional with the single electron tunneling rate in the barrier) shows certain jumps
when the bias voltage is varied. Increasing the bias the current increases due to the
elastic tunneling, up to a certain threshold given by
e n eV =
th
Beyond this threshold a new current channel is opened, which is assigned to
inelastic tunneling through the guest molecule that excites a molecular vibration
at the frequency e, with the net result that a photon with energy is emitted
e
This process corresponds to a kink in the I-V curve and a peak in the
curve. In this way, the vibrational spectra of the molecule can be determined.
2 2
/ dV I d
A spatial map of the collected optical signals can thus be translated into a
chemical map of the sample, which can be a molecule or an assembly of
molecules, adding in this way important information to STM images.
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Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy- SNOM
The SNOM is based on the induced short range near field of a sample, excited by an
electromagnetic source that radiates an electromagnetic wave with wavelength . A probe is
scanned over the sample surface, and, depending on the particular SNOM configuration, it
can have one of the following roles: 1) radiates the electromagnetic field in the near-field
region of the sample, which is then detected with a photodetector in the far field, 2) detects
the near field of the sample when the surface is excited by an external electromagnetic field
placed far away from the sample, or 3)emits and detects the reflected wave from a surface
when it is placed in the near-field radiation region of the sample

Photodetector
/50 /50
Visible light
Aperture
Sample
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the distance between the probe and the sample, the size of the probe as well as the
physical features of the sample must all be much smaller than the wavelength. The
diffraction limit in the far field depends on the wavelength and is equal to /2
However, in the near field the diffraction limit does not depend on the wavelength and
so the diffraction limit can be overcome. In the near field the SNOM can attain a super-
resolution of a few nm in visible, in sharp contrast with a normal microscope, which
cannot have a resolution better than 250 nm in the visible spectral region.
X
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A simple physical example can help us understand better the SNOM principle. Let us
consider two point sources separated by a distance d, which oscillate with the same
frequency and the same phase. The problem is to determine d from measurements of
the field emitted by the sources at a certain distance r. The amplitude at r is a sum of
two waves:
| 2 / | / |) 2 / | exp( | 2 / | / |) 2 / | exp( ) ( d r d r d r d r r + + + ik ik A
with k the wavenumber of the emitted radiation. In the far field, where kr>>kd>>1 , the
amplitude becomes
]} 2 / ) cos( cos[ 2 ]{ / ) [exp( ) ( u kd r ikr A r
here u is the angle between r and d. It is clear from above eqs that the amplitude
depends on the wavenumber k, and thus on the wavelength. To determine the distance
d the amplitude A must be measured at two observation points for which u is zero and
t/2, respectively.
If we analyze the expression of the amplitude in the near-field range, kr<<kd<<1,
] | 2 / | | 2 / [| ) (
1 1
+ + d r d r r A
This expression is independent of the wavelength!
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the distance d is computed only from near-field measurements of A taken, for
example,

0 |
0
=
=r r
u
| ) ( | / ) | ) ( | 4 ( 2
0
2 / 1 2
0
2
0
r A r A r d =
The fabrication of near-field apertures with diameters of tens of nm, as well as the
ability to position them at a height of 1020 nm above the sample, was only possible
after the development of AFM and STM techniques, and only after the MEMS
technology was able to create such small apertures. SNOM benefits from all the
equipment included in an AFM, such as the feedback system, the piezo-scanners, and
so on.
SNOM probes are fabricated via various techniques and physical principles. The most
encountered aperture is made from an optical fiber, which is sharpened through
chemical etching and then covered with an opaque metal The apex of the probe is
then cut to realize a nanosized aperture. A large category of SNOM probes is realized
by integrating the nanosized apertures with AFM cantilevers this can be achieved
using MEMS techniques Moreover, VCSEL lasers can be integrated with the cantilever
and the nanoaperture , offering a high-resolution SNOM probe.
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Core of the
optical fiber
Opaque
metal
Nanosized aperture
Optical field

Cantilever
Tip
Nanosized aperture
(40-100 nm)
Surface under test
Light
Optical
field

GaAs cantilever
VCSEL
Tip
100 nm aperture
Surface under test
Light
SNOM can also be realized with apertureless probes placed in the near field of the sample.
In this case, the probe is either a metal nanoparticle attached to a cantilever or a metallic tip
positioned in the near field. An optical field excites the apertureless probes, and the
scattered field in the near-field range is then detected and processed. The resolution of
these probes can be higher than in the case of nanosized optical apertures.
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Introduction in Nanoelectronics
Lecture 6
SNOM is of paramount importance in some applications related to the study of single
molecules and thin films, and in general in the study of nanomaterials whose properties
are dictated by the structure and size of the constituents.Biomolecular systems are also
analyzed with the SNOM In this respect, single DNA molecules and human
chromosomes, molecular motors, single chemical reactions, and the cell dynamics
were imaged using SNOM. Quantum devices and nanophotonic structures can be also
imaged with help of SNOM . Recently, the SNOM was used to detect the amplitude and
phase distributions of optical fields inside a photonic band gap structure composed of
nanosized periodic materials.
It is worth mentioning that the SNOM technique is not only applicable for optical fields,
but also for microwaves and millimeter waves. Many configurations are the long-wave
analogues of optical nanosized apertures or apertureless structures.
Lung of rat
human chromosome
Latex layer
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GMR
Because spin polarization arise naturally in ferromagnetic (FM) materials, the first
spin-based devices were all-metallic structures, which consisted of layers of
magnetic and nonmagnetic materials that form magnetic tunnel junctions and
display hysteresis and giant magnetoresistance (GMR). In the GMR effect, the
resistance changes from a small to a large value when the magnetizations of the FM
layers change from parallel to antiparallel. These devices function as GMR sensors,
circuit isolators, read heads, or magnetoresistive memory cells used as nonvolatile
magnetic random access memories, which store trillions of bits defined as
magnetization directions established by an external magnetic field
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2DEG
Fe contact Fe contact
gate
x
y
z
L
In the Datta-Das transistor the spins in the
ferromagnetic contacts are parallely aligned
and 100% spin injection/detection efficiency
in 2DEG is assumed.
2
/ 2 ) ( L m L k k
R x x R
o u = =
+
the differential phase shift (spin precession angle) between the +z and -z polarized electrons
after propagating along a distance L in the 2DEG
At the drain contact the transmission probability of electrons depend on the angle
between the incoming spins and the fixed magnetization direction of the contact, the
spin-resolved conductance
h e G
R
/ ) cos 1 (
2
u =

for electrons spin-polarized along x oscillating as a

function of the spin-orbit coupling strength . The state of
the transistor is ON when current flows through it or OFF
when the gate prohibits current flowing
source drain
gate
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