Diamond as Advanced Material for Scanning Probe Microscopy Tips

Abstract

Synthetic diamond and conductive, doped forms of diamond are ideally suited materials for scanning probe microscopy tips due to their inherent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. In particular for atomic force microscopy (AFM) and related techniques, which require a conductive tip in permanent contact to the sample surface, boron‐doped diamond (BDD) is an excellent material. Only few examples have so far been demonstrated using boron‐doped diamond microelectrodes as probes for scanning electrochemical microscopy (SEM) or AFM‐SECM. This review focuses on the state‐of‐the‐art using diamond‐coated SPM tips and conductive boron‐doped diamond as probe material discussing advantages and disadvantages.

Structural Characterization of Mesoporous Thin Film Architectures: A Tutorial Overview

“…Micrograph resolution can be improved by the usage of special AFM probes i.e. single carbon nanotube 79 or diamond tips, 80 offering pathways to a more accurate analysis. Pebbles, a popular tool for the analysis of TEM images, takes a distinct approach as it models the transmission of electrons through 3D nano-objects and approximates their position and size via fitting of 2D signal intensity models.…”

Review—Microelectrodes: An Overview of Probe Development and Bioelectrochemistry Applications from 2013 to 2018

“…Other important advantages conferred by MEs include reduced ohmic resistance (iR) due to low faradaic currents (≤ nA), higher current densities and improved signalto-noise (S/N) ratios. 2,9 Consider an electrode reaction involving charge transfer between the electrode and an electroactive species in solution, such as the reactions listed in Table III:…”

“…2 Physiologists have been using MEs to study bioelectric potentials since the 1920s, where initial successes were made by Gelfan, Gerard and co-workers studying the giant plant cell of the species of Nitella. 3 Presently, MEs have found application in a wide variety of research areas including biology, [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] corrosion, 13,14 energy, 14,15 kinetics, 14 instrumental development, 9,16 and surface modification 17,18 due to their small size, high sensitivity, fast steady-state response, low double-layer charging current and minimal ohmic loss. 19 Herein we review the applications of MEs in bioelectrochemistry from 2013-2018.…”

Biological imaging with scanning electrochemical microscopy

“…The most imminent challenge for cellular SECM is the ability to undergo maturation from a high-technology approach restricted to applications in expert electrochemical laboratories to a robust standard methodology with potential for widespread usage in life and medical science research facilities. Scanned electrochemical measurements at single living cell levels are not yet really explored for the many existing solutions of chemically modified electrodes including enzyme biosensors and immunosensors, the wide range of ion-selective potentiometric microand nanoelectrodes and electrochemical scanning probe detectors made of advanced sensor materials such as diamond [150]. Miniaturization of sensor structures to suitable geometries for SECM and use of completely novel tip types in multi-functional biological SECM devices are requisite steps towards possible cell inspections.…”