Advanced nanoscale elastic property measurement by contact-resonance atomic force microscopy

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In the past few years, we have improved and developed the capabilities of CR-AFM in various ways: established clear criteria for assessing the precision and accuracy in CR-AFM measurements, introduced a load-dependent CR-AFM protocol suitable for elastic modulus measurements on compliant materials, and tested the suitability of CR-AFM measurements on various materials with elastic moduli in the range of GPa to hundreds of GPa. We have also extended CR-AFM applicability to quantitative elastic modulus measurements on various one-dimensional nanostructures (nanowires and nanotubes). Another valuable CR-AFM application has been the interrogation of elastic properties at the nanoscale of granular nanocrystalline surfaces and thin films. By combining the CR-AFM point measurements with AFM scanning capability, the elastic modulus was mapped with better than 10 nm spatial resolution. To determine the elastic modulus from CR-AFM measurements on such granular surfaces, both topography and contact stiffness maps were self-consistently correlated.

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Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Nanotechnology 2010: Advanced Materials, CNTs, Particles, Films and Composites
Published: June 21, 2010
Pages: 1 - 4
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Materials Characterization & Imaging
ISBN: 978-1-4398-3401-5