Papers – Page 685 – TechConnect Briefs

Advanced CryoTEM and Tomography for Two- and Three-Dimensional Nano-Characterisation of Soft Matter

Sourty E., de Haas F., Frederik P.M., Frederik P.M., Loos J., Stokes D.J., Hubert D.H.W., FEI Company, NL

Recent advances in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) mean that we are able to achieve unprecedented resolution at the atomic level. Furthermore, improved methods for obtaining and reconstructing tilt series projections allow us to create high [...]

Understanding and utilizing molecular constraints in nanoscale material designs

Sills S., Overney R.M., Micron Technology, Inc., US

Challenges regarding nanoscale material designs often arise from the collision of two sets of critical length-scales; namely, device dimensions approach the length scale of molecular-level processes. On one hand, these finite size constraints cannot be [...]

Mechanical Properties of Polycrystalline 3C-SiC Heteroepitaxial Layers

Pozzi M., Harris A.J., Burdess J.S., Lee K.K., Cheung R., Newcastle University, UK

Silicon carbide (SiC) is widely recognised as the leading candidate to replace silicon in Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices operating in harsh environments. The superiority of SiC over Si as regards mechanical, chemical and electronic [...]

Effective Use of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) in Investigating Fundamental Mechanical Properties of Metals at the Nano-Scale

Greer J.R., Nix W.D., Palo Alto Research Center, US

In this work, FIB is utilized in manufacturing of nano-pillars to investigate plasticity of metals at nano-scale. Gold nano-pillars were fabricated from bulk gold and epitaxial gold films on MgO substrates and subsequently compressed using [...]

Nanoscale Deformation Measurements for Reliability Assessment of MEMS and NEMS

Keller J., Vogel D., Michel B., Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM), DE

Recent advances in microtechnology and the development of new electronics and micro/nanosystem devices in automotive industry, communication sector and life science have led to a strong need in material characterization on the micro and nano [...]

The Casimir Force and quantum interaction between conducting macro-bodies at nanoscale distances

Petrov M., Petrov V., Petrov M., Petrov V., Bryksin V., Petter J., Tschudi T., Darmstadt Technical University, DE

We report for the first time on the optical detection of a periodical mechanical interaction between conducting macro-bodies induced by the periodical Casimir force. The influence of conductivity on the Casimir force has been analysed. [...]

Nano Equipment and Materials for Electronics – Market Needs and Outlook

Sheet L., SEMI, US

Nano equipment, tools and materials are critical to the further commercialization of nanoelectronics devices. The applications of various nano manufacturing methods and materials by nanoelectronics application are reviewed, followed by the status of critical nano [...]

Confocal Raman AFM, a powerful tool for the nondestructive characterization of heterogeneous materials

Schmidt U., Vargas F., Kress M., Dieing T., Weishaupt K., Hollricher O., WITec GmbH, DE

The Confocal Raman-AFM is a breakthrough in microscopy. It combines three measuring techniques in one instrument: a high resolution confocal optical microscope, an extremely sensitive Raman spectroscopy system, and an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Using [...]

Highly sensitive Scanning Capacitance Microscope

Tanbakuchi H., Agilent Technologies, US

Summary—Emerging nanotechnology and biotechnology are in direct need of metrology tools with better than 10 –nm spatial resolution that are capable of imaging surfaces and nanoembeded structures. Scanning local probe microscopy (SLPM) techniques have advanced [...]

An All-Digital Cantilever Controller for MRFM and Scanned Probe Microscopy using a Combined DSP/FPGA Design

de Roover D., Porter II L.M., Emami-Naeini A., Marohn J.A., Kuehn S., Garner S., Smith D.D., SC Solutions, Inc., US

An all-digital cantilever controller for magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) was developed through a close collaboration between SC Solutions, Cornell University, and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. The advantage of an all-digital controller is its [...]