Aspect-ratio and lateral-resolution enhancement in force microscopy by attaching nanoclusters generated by an ion cluster source at the end of a silicon tip

Abstract

One of the factors that limit the spatial resolution in atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the physical size of the probe. This limitation is particularly severe when the imaged structures are comparable in size to the tip's apex. The resolution in the AFM is usually enhanced by using sharp tips with high aspect ratios. In the present paper we propose an approach to modify AFM tips that consists of depositing nanoclusters on standard silicon tips. We show that the use of those tips leads to atomic force microscopy images of higher aspect ratios and spatial resolution. The present approach has two major properties. It provides higher aspect-ratio images of nanoscale objects and, at the same time, enables to functionalize the AFM tips by depositing nanoparticles with well-controlled chemical composition.

General Resolution Enhancement Method in Atomic Force Microscopy Using Deep Learning

“…Generally speaking, low‐resolution images certainly contain insufficient information, which may cause some of the important features, including grain boundary, surface defect, dislocation and interface unclear or even ignored. Hence, several methods and techniques were proposed to enhance the resolution and quality of the AFM images, such as by improving the shape and properties of the tip or cantilever, the development and application of the multiple frequency excitation techniques, the contour metrology, and the combination with other microscopy techniques . Generally speaking, achieving higher‐resolution image is a long‐term goal in all types of microscopic techniques.…”

“…In this study, a very deep convolution neural network is developed to derive a high-resolution topography image from a low-resolution topography image. Hence, several methods and techniques were proposed to enhance the resolution and quality of the AFM images, such as by improving the shape and properties of the tip or cantilever, [11][12][13][14] the development and application of the multiple frequency excitation techniques, [15][16][17][18] the contour metrology, [19] The derived high-resolution AFM images are comparable with the experimental measured high-resolution images measured at the same locations.…”

“…[3][4][5] However, the unavoidable experimental errors, such as "tip crash," [6] the cross-talk between topographic and electrostatic information, [7] the large height variation of the sample surface, [8] and the influence by the properties of the sample or the ambient environment [9] can severely reduce the spatial resolution of the AFM images. Hence, several methods and techniques were proposed to enhance the resolution and quality of the AFM images, such as by improving the shape and properties of the tip or cantilever, [11][12][13][14] the development and application of the multiple frequency excitation techniques, [15][16][17][18] the contour metrology, [19] [10] Generally speaking, low-resolution images certainly contain insufficient information, which may cause some of the important features, including grain boundary, surface defect, dislocation and interface unclear or even ignored.…”

Dispersion and Functionalization of Nanoparticles Synthesized by Gas Aggregation Source: Opening New Routes Toward the Fabrication of Nanoparticles for Biomedicine

“…As can be seen in figure 5b, a different morphology was observed with new features surrounding the NPs that resemble to water bottlenecks caused by air humidity in contact with a hygroscopic material. A special tip for high resolution was used in these measurements 31 in order to resolve the new structures that appeared in the sample. Then, a N 2 flux was introduced during the measurement to remove the adsorbed humidity.…”

Mirror effect in atomic force microscopy profiles enables tip reconstruction

“…This enables its application in fields as different as biotechnology 4 , semiconductors 5 , photonics 6 , polymer science 7 or 2D materials 8 . One of the main limitations of the AFM is the lateral resolution which comes from the finite size of the probe tip 9 – 11 . When the tip and the scanned motifs are comparable in size, the width measurements are dramatically overestimated 12 , and thus, the shape of the motifs cannot be accurately resolved 13 , 14 .…”