Journal of Nanomedicine & Nanotechnology

Graphene-edge probes for scanning tunneling microscopy

9^th Nano Congress for Next Generation

August 01-02, 2016 Manchester, UK

Jeff T H Tsai, Li-Der Chang and Kevin K W Chu

National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nanomed Nanotechnol

Abstract:

Fabrication of freestanding graphene-edge probes for scanning tunneling microscopy was demonstrated. Graphene was prepared by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from solid carbon sources. A Cu wire acted as the substrate for graphene growth. As the freestanding graphene probes were fabricated, the process was monitored using a micromanipulator and an optical microscope. Our previous study of electron emission patterns from a field emission microscope demonstrated the layered structure of the graphene edge. A single-layer of graphene emitted electrons from a limited number of atoms. We found that the graphene emitters required careful conditioning to achieve a stable emission current. In this research, such activated graphene probes were applied for use in scanning tunneling microscopes for surface morphology detection. The preconditioned, multi-layer graphene probe presented resolution that was comparable to conventional probes. Our study generated a practical method for applying individual freestanding graphene for surface probe microscopy.

Biography :

Email: thtsai@mail.ntou.edu.tw