Nanofabrication and Characterization

The Principles and Applications of Full Field X-Ray Photoemission Electron Microscopy [ 下載 PDF ]

Yao-Jane Hsu, Der-Hsin Wei

The Photoemission Electron Microscopy state located at National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) has 90 nm / 100 meV spatial/spectral resolutions. Combining with the high photon brightness, tunable photon energy (60 – 1200 eV), and variable photon polarization provided by NSRRC storage ring, this microscope become a powerful tool to investigate various subjects such as the chemical, electronic and magnetic structures of magnetic thin film and organic thin film.

Application of Chemical Staining Method in Scanning Probe Microscopy [ 下載 PDF ]

Ming-Feng Hsieh, Deng-Sung Lin

Since the various kind of scanning probe microscopes (SPM) were invented during the last three decades, seeing individual atoms has become routine work in many laboratories. On many complex surfaces on crystals and thin films consisting more than one kind of atoms, however, it has been proven to be extremely difficult to distinguish different atoms, if not impossible. Our research group has introduced into the scanning tunneling microscopy the use of the chemical staining method widely used in optical microscopy of microbiology. We have succeeded resolving the Si and Ge atoms in the Si/Ge surfaces. This concept of staining method should be also very useful for any type of scanning probe microscopes.

Nanopatterning of Functional Groups Using Dip-Pen Nanolithography [ 下載 PDF ]

Chia Hao Wu, Jeng Tzong Sheu

Nanopatterning using dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) has been demonstrated with MHA ink on gold substrates in a temperature-controlled and humidity-controlled environment. On the other hand, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-amino-propyl-trimethoxysilane (AEAPTMS) is used as ink to deposite on the silicon dioxide surface as linker for charged nanoparticles. It is found that the feature size of AEAPTMS can be determined by the environment relative humidity. Patterns down to 60 nm are demonstrated. Also, gold nanoparticles with 15 nm in diameter are selectively deposited on the surfaces of the AEAPTMS DPN patterns.

Physical Sorption Characterization of Nanoporous Materials [ 下載 PDF ]

Chia-Min Yang

Nanoporous materials have become more important in various application fields. For the pore characterization, gas physical sorption analysis is a popular and powerful tool for materials with pore diameters ranging from 0.5 to 100 nm. In this article, the principle of sorption analysis and the sorption measurement have been shown. In addition, several analytical methods frequently used for the calculation of surface area, pore diameter and microporosity have also been introduced.

"Photoluminescence: Principles, Structure, and Applications" [ 下載 PDF ]

Jia-Min Shieh, Yi-Fan Lai, Yong-Chang Lin, Jr-Yau Fang

Photoluminescence, a powerful and break-less analysis technology, can reveal the band structure and the carrier transportation behaviors in a material. Moreover, the doping type, band gap, composition, etc. of the bulk material or the size, path of carrier transportation, lifetime, etc. of the nano-material will be shown in the photoluminescence spectrum. So the photoluminescence could be a judgment of the material quality and be a key technology of the development of nanotechnology. This paper emphasized to introduce the principles, structure, and applications of the photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation, confocal image with micro-PL, and timeresolved photoluminescence systems.

Mechanisms of Scanning Probe Microscopy in Electro-Optical Analysis [ 下載 PDF ]

Yu-Hsuan Lin, Chien-Ying Su, Han-Chang Pan, Ming-Hua Shiao

Scanning probe microscopy is a key technology of nanometer-scale surface analysis, and highly valued among industries and academia. Scanning probe microscopy with atomic resolution can be used to measure the optical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical and many more other properties of the material surface. Near-field scanning optical microscopy breaks through the diffraction limit of conventional optical resolution, and conducting atomic force microscopy provides statistical analysis of surface electrical properties. They are extensively applied in the fields of physics, chemistry, material science and biology. The basic principles, system setup and applications of these two technologies that are upgraded from ordinary atomic force microscopes at ITRC (Instrument Technology Research Center) are introduced in this article.

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Scanning-Electron-Microscope-Based E-Beam Writer and Its Applications in the Fabrication of Nano-Electronic Devices [ 下載 PDF ]

Chii-Dong Chen, Cen-Shawn Wu

Electron beam lithography is a quick and perfect solution for the fabrication of small amount of prototype nano-scaled structures where frequently changes in design are necessary and the conventional photolithography with optical masks is found ineffective. Although a simply constructed scanning-electron-microscope (SEM)-based e-beam writer can not be on a par with the commercially available multi-million-dollar e-beam writers, it offers a cost-effective solution for the research and development laboratories. In this article we briefly introduce the e-beam lithography techniques, and we describe our experiences in the modification of an SEM into an e-beam writer. Key issues are discussed and examples of fabricated nano-devices are presented.

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Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy Technique: Analysis Application in Nano-Scale Materials [ 下載 PDF ]

Rong-Tan Huang, Shen-Chuan Lo, Jing-Yi Yan, Jin-Sheng Tsai, Cheng-Cheng Chiang, Ji-Ju Kai, Fu-Rong Chen

Field-emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM) coupling with energy filter provides high spatial resolution and 2-D energy image-spectrum. A three dimensional distribution of material specific properties can be reconstructed by extracting the energy loss spectrum from electron spectroscopic imaging series (ESI). Based on the analysis theory of function transfer and digital signal process, the energy resolution of spectrum-image can be improved down to 0.1 eV by using maximum entropy deconvolution technique. Consequentially, material dielectric function, energy band gap and electronic structure image with a high spatial resolution can be obtained by using the discussed techniques.

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Automated 3D Structure Determination of Proteins in Solution Using NMR Spectra [ 下載 PDF ]

Yi-Jan Lin, Peter Güntert

Understanding the relationship between structure and function of biological macromolecules is one of the key elements of rational drug design. The three-dimensional structure has a pivotal role, since its knowledge is essential to understand the physical, chemical, and biological properties of a protein. Until recently NMR protein structure determination has remained a laborious undertaking that occupied a trained spectroscopist over several months or few years for each new protein structure. It has been recognized that many of the time-consuming interactive tasks like the process of spectral analysis can be done more efficiently by automated, computational systems. This article will introduce a program of automated NMR structure calculation, CYANA (combined assignment and dynamics algorithm for NMR applications), and how to utilize it to determine three-dimensional structures of proteins.