635 noncontact at 23. noncontact atomic force microscopy...

635

Noncontact At23. Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopyand Related Topics

Franz J. Giessibl, Yasuhiro Sugawara, Seizo Morita, Hirotaka Hosoi, Kazuhisa Sueoka, Koichi Mukasa,Akira Sasahara, Hiroshi Onishi

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) methods suchas scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and non-contact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) are thebasic technologies for nanotechnology and alsofor future bottom-up processes. In Sect. 23.1, theprinciples of AFM such as its operating modes andthe NC-AFM frequency-modulation method arefully explained. Then, in Sect. 23.2, applicationsof NC-AFM to semiconductors, which make clearits potential in terms of spatial resolution andfunction, are introduced. Next, in Sect. 23.3, ap-plications of NC-AFM to insulators such as alkalihalides, fluorides and transition-metal oxides areintroduced. Lastly, in Sect. 23.4, applications ofNC-AFM to molecules such as carboxylate (RCOO−)with R = H, CH3, C(CH3)3 and CF3 are introduced.Thus, NC-AFM can observe atoms and molecules onvarious kinds of surfaces such as semiconductors,insulators and metal oxides with atomic or mo-lecular resolution. These sections are essential tounderstand the state of the art and future possi-bilities for NC-AFM, which is the second generationof atom/molecule technology.

23.1 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) ............... 63623.1.1 Imaging Signal in AFM .................. 63623.1.2 Experimental Measurement

and Noise ................................... 637

23.1.3 Static AFM Operating Mode ............ 63723.1.4 Dynamic AFM Operating Mode ........ 63823.1.5 The Four Additional Challenges

Faced by AFM ............................... 63823.1.6 Frequency-Modulation AFM

(FM-AFM) .................................... 63923.1.7 Relation Between Frequency Shift

and Forces .................................. 64023.1.8 Noise in Frequency Modulation

AFM: Generic Calculation ............... 64123.1.9 Conclusion .................................. 641

23.2 Applications to Semiconductors ............. 64123.2.1 Si(111)-(7× 7) Surface ...................... 64223.2.2 Si(100)-(2× 1) and Si(100)-(2× 1):H

Monohydride Surfaces .................. 64323.2.3 Metal Deposited Si Surface ............ 645

23.3 Applications to Insulators ...................... 64723.3.1 Alkali Halides, Fluorides

and Metal Oxides ......................... 64723.3.2 Atomically Resolved Imaging

of a NiO(001) Surface ..................... 652

23.4 Applications to Molecules ...................... 65423.4.1 Why Molecules

and Which Molecules? .................. 65423.4.2 Mechanism of Molecular Imaging ... 65423.4.3 Perspectives ................................ 657

References .................................................. 658

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is an atomictool based on an electric method that measures thetunneling current between a conductive tip and a con-ductive surface. It can electrically observe individualatoms/molecules. It can characterize or analyze theelectronic nature around surface atoms/molecules. Inaddition, it can manipulate individual atoms/molecules.Hence, the STM is the first generation of atom/moleculetechnology. On the other hand, the atomic force mi-croscopy (AFM) is a unique atomic tool based on

a mechanical method that can even deal with insula-tor surfaces. Since the invention of noncontact AFM(NC-AFM) in 1995, the NC-AFM and NC-AFM-basedmethods have rapidly developed into powerful surfacetools on the atomic/molecular scales, because NC-AFMhas the following characteristics: (1) it has true atomicresolution, (2) it can measure atomic force (so-calledatomic force spectroscopy), (3) it can observe even in-sulators, and (4) it can measure mechanical responsessuch as elastic deformation. Thus, NC-AFM is the sec-

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636 Part C Scanning-Probe Microscopy

ond generation of atom/molecule technology. Scanningprobe microscopy (SPM) such as STM and NC-AFMis the basic technology for nanotechnology and also forfuture bottom-up processes.

In Sect. 23.1, the principles of NC-AFM willbe fully introduced. Then, in Sect. 23.2, applica-

tions to semiconductors will be presented. Next, inSect. 23.3, applications to insulators will be described.And, in Sect. 23.4, applications to molecules will beintroduced. These sections are essential to under-standing the state of the art and future possibilitiesfor NC-AFM.

23.1 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)The atomic force microscope (AFM), invented by Bin-nig [23.1] and introduced in 1986 by Binnig et al. [23.2]is an offspring of the scanning tunneling microscope(STM) [23.3]. The STM is covered in several booksand review articles, e.g. [23.4–9]. Early in the devel-opment of STM it became evident that relatively strongforces act between a tip in close proximity to a sam-ple. It was found that these forces could be put to gooduse in the atomic force microscope (AFM). Detailedinformation about the noncontact AFM can be foundin [23.10–12].

23.1.1 Imaging Signal in AFM

Figure 23.1 shows a sharp tip close to a sample. The po-tential energy between the tip and the sample Vts causesa z-component of the tip–sample force Fts = −∂Vts/∂z.Depending on the mode of operation, the AFM uses Fts,or some entity derived from Fts, as the imaging signal.

Unlike the tunneling current, which has a verystrong distance dependence, Fts has long- and short-range contributions. We can classify the contributionsby their range and strength. In vacuum, there are van-der-Waals, electrostatic and magnetic forces with a longrange (up to 100 nm) and short-range chemical forces(fractions of nm).

Tip

Sample

Fig. 23.1 Schematic view of an AFM tip close to a sample

The van-der-Waals interaction is caused by fluctua-tions in the electric dipole moment of atoms and theirmutual polarization. For a spherical tip with radius Rnext to a flat surface (z is the distance between the planeconnecting the centers of the surface atoms and the cen-ter of the closest tip atom) the van-der-Waals potentialis given by [23.13]

VvdW = − AH

6z. (23.1)

The Hamaker constant AH depends on the type ofmaterials (atomic polarizability and density) of thetip and sample and is of the order of 1 eV for mostsolids [23.13].

When the tip and sample are both conductive andhave an electrostatic potential difference U �= 0, elec-trostatic forces are important. For a spherical tip withradius R, the force is given by [23.14]

Felectrostatic = −πε0 RU2

z. (23.2)

Chemical forces are more complicated. Empiricalmodel potentials for chemical bonds are the Morse po-tential (see e.g. [23.13])

VMorse = −Ebond

(2e−κ(z−σ) − e−2κ(z−σ )

)(23.3)

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Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy and Related Topics 23.1 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) 637

and the Lennard-Jones potential [23.13]

VLennard-Jones = −Ebond

(2σ6

z6− σ12

z12

). (23.4)

These potentials describe a chemical bond with bondingenergy Ebond and equilibrium distance σ . The Morsepotential has an additional parameter: a decay length κ.

23.1.2 Experimental Measurementand Noise

Forces between the tip and sample are typically meas-ured by recording the deflection of a cantilever beamthat has a tip mounted on its end (Fig. 23.2). Today’smicrofabricated silicon cantilevers were first created inthe group of Quate [23.15–17] and at IBM [23.18].

The cantilever is characterized by its spring con-stant k, eigenfrequency f0 and quality factor Q.

For a rectangular cantilever with dimensions w,t and L (Fig. 23.2), the spring constant k is givenby [23.6]

k = EYwt3

4L3, (23.5)

where EY is the Young’s modulus. The eigenfrequencyf0 is given by [23.6]

f0 = 0.162t

L2

√E

ρ, (23.6)

where ρ is the mass density of the cantilever mater-ial. The Q-factor depends on the damping mechanismspresent in the cantilever. For micromachined cantileversoperated in air, Q is typically a few hundred, while Qcan reach hundreds of thousands in vacuum.

In the first AFM, the deflection of the cantilever wasmeasured with an STM; the back side of the cantilever

[110]

wL

q'

[001]t

Fig. 23.2 Top view and side view of a microfabricated sil-icon cantilever (schematic)

1000

100

10

1

0.10.01 0.1 1 10 100 100001000

f (Hz)

Spectral noise density of cantilever deflection (pm/Hz0.5)

1/f noise

1/f corner at f = fc

With noise nq'

Fig. 23.3 Schematic view of 1/ f noise apparent in force detectors.Static AFMs operate in a frequency range from 0.01 Hz to a fewhundred Hz, while dynamic AFMs operate at frequencies around10 kHz to a few hundred kHz. The noise of the cantilever deflec-tion sensor is characterized by the 1/ f corner frequency fc and theconstant deflection noise density nq′ for the frequency range wherewhite noise dominates

was metalized, and a tunneling tip was brought closeto it to measure the deflection [23.2]. Today’s designsuse optical (interferometer, beam-bounce) or electricalmethods (piezoresistive, piezoelectric) to measure thecantilever deflection. A discussion of the various tech-niques can be found in [23.19], descriptions of piezore-sistive detection schemes are found in [23.17, 20] andpiezoelectric methods are explained in [23.21–24].

The quality of the cantilever deflection measure-ment can be expressed in a schematic plot of thedeflection noise density versus frequency as in Fig. 23.3.

The noise density has a 1/ f dependence for low fre-quency and merges into a constant noise density (whitenoise) above the 1/ f corner frequency.

23.1.3 Static AFM Operating Mode

In the static mode of operation, the force translates intoa deflection q′ = Fts/k of the cantilever, yielding im-ages as maps of z(x, y, Fts = const.). The noise levelof the force measurement is then given by the can-tilever’s spring constant k times the noise level of thedeflection measurement. In this respect, a small valuefor k increases force sensitivity. On the other hand, in-stabilities are more likely to occur with soft cantilevers(Sect. 23.1.1). Because the deflection of the cantilevershould be significantly larger than the deformation of

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the tip and sample, the cantilever should be much softerthan the bonds between the bulk atoms in the tip andsample. Interatomic force constants in solids are in therange 10–100 N/m; in biological samples, they can beas small as 0.1 N/m. Thus, typical values for k in thestatic mode are 0.01–5 N/m.

Even though it has been demonstrated that atomicresolution is possible with static AFM, the method canonly be applied in certain cases. The detrimental ef-fects of 1/ f -noise can be limited by working at lowtemperatures [23.25], where the coefficients of ther-mal expansion are very small or by building the AFMusing a material with a low thermal-expansion coeffi-cient [23.26]. The long-range attractive forces have tobe canceled by immersing the tip and sample in a li-quid [23.26] or by partly compensating the attractiveforce by pulling at the cantilever after jump-to-contacthas occurred [23.27]. Jarvis et al. have canceled thelong-range attractive force with an electromagneticforce applied to the cantilever [23.28]. Even with theserestrictions, static AFM does not produce atomic reso-lution on reactive surfaces like silicon, as the chemicalbonding of the AFM tip and sample poses an unsur-mountable problem [23.29, 30].

23.1.4 Dynamic AFM Operating Mode

In the dynamic operation modes, the cantilever isdeliberately vibrated. There are two basic methodsof dynamic operation: amplitude-modulation (AM)and frequency-modulation (FM) operation. In AM-

4

3

2

1

0

– 1

– 2

– 3

– 40 5 10 15 20z (Å)

Fts (z) (nN) It(z) (nA)

Short-range force (Morse potential)Long-range (vdW) forceTotal forceTunneling current

Fig. 23.4 Plot of the tunneling current It and force Fts (typical val-ues) as a function of the distance z between the front atom andsurface atom layer

AFM [23.31], the actuator is driven by a fixed amplitudeAdrive at a fixed frequency fdrive where fdrive is close tof0. When the tip approaches the sample, elastic and in-elastic interactions cause a change in both the amplitudeand the phase (relative to the driving signal) of the can-tilever. These changes are used as the feedback signal.While the AM mode was initially used in a noncon-tant mode, it was later implemented very successfully ata closer distance range in ambient conditions involvingrepulsive tip–sample interactions.

The change in amplitude in AM mode does not oc-cur instantaneously with a change in the tip–sampleinteraction, but on a timescale of τAM ≈ 2Q/ f0 and theAM mode is slow with high-Q cantilevers. However,the use of high Q-factors reduces noise. Albrecht et al.found a way to combine the benefits of high Q and highspeed by introducing the frequency-modulation (FM)mode [23.32], where the change in the eigenfrequencysettles on a timescale of τFM ≈ 1/ f0.

Using the FM mode, the resolution was improveddramatically and finally atomic resolution [23.33, 34]was obtained by reducing the tip–sample distance andworking in vacuum. For atomic studies in vacuum, theFM mode (Sect. 23.1.6) is now the preferred AFM tech-nique. However, atomic resolution in vacuum can alsobe obtained with the AM mode, as demonstrated byErlandsson et al. [23.35].

23.1.5 The Four Additional ChallengesFaced by AFM

Some of the inherent AFM challenges are apparent bycomparing the tunneling current and tip–sample forceas a function of distance (Fig. 23.4).

The tunneling current is a monotonic function of thetip–sample distance and has a very sharp distance de-pendence. In contrast, the tip–sample force has long-and short-range components and is not monotonic.

Jump-to-Contact and Other InstabilitiesIf the tip is mounted on a soft cantilever, the initiallyattractive tip–sample forces can cause a sudden jump-to-contact when approaching the tip to the sample. Thisinstability occurs in the quasistatic mode if [23.36, 37]

k < max

(−∂2Vts

∂z2

)= kmax

ts . (23.7)

Jump-to-contact can be avoided even for soft cantileversby oscillating at a large enough amplitude A [23.38]

kA > max (−Fts) . (23.8)

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Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy and Related Topics 23.1 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) 639

If hysteresis occurs in the Fts(z)-relation, energyΔEts needs to be supplied to the cantilever for eachoscillation cycle. If this energy loss is large comparedto the intrinsic energy loss of the cantilever, amplitudecontrol can become difficult. An additional approximatecriterion for k and A is then

kA2

2≥ ΔEts Q

2π. (23.9)

Contribution of Long-Range ForcesThe force between the tip and sample is composedof many contributions: electrostatic, magnetic, van-der-Waals and chemical forces in vacuum. All of theseforce types except for the chemical forces have stronglong-range components which conceal the atomic forcecomponents. For imaging by AFM with atomic res-olution, it is desirable to filter out the long-rangeforce contributions and only measure the force com-ponents which vary on the atomic scale. While thereis no way to discriminate between long- and short-range forces in static AFM, it is possible to enhancethe short-range contributions in dynamic AFM byproper choice of the oscillation amplitude A of thecantilever.

Noise in the Imaging SignalMeasuring the cantilever deflection is subject to noise,especially at low frequencies (1/ f noise). In staticAFM, this noise is particularly problematic because ofthe approximate 1/ f dependence. In dynamic AFM, thelow-frequency noise is easily discriminated when usinga bandpass filter with a center frequency around f0.

Nonmonotonic Imaging SignalThe tip–sample force is not monotonic. In general, theforce is attractive for large distances and, upon decreas-ing the distance between tip and sample, the force turnsrepulsive (Fig. 23.4). Stable feedback is only possibleon a monotonic subbranch of the force curve.

Frequency-modulation AFM helps to overcomechallenges. The nonmonotonic imaging signal in AFMis a remaining complication for FM-AFM.

23.1.6 Frequency-Modulation AFM(FM-AFM)

In FM-AFM, a cantilever with eigenfrequency f0 andspring constant k is subject to controlled positivefeedback such that it oscillates with a constant ampli-tude A [23.32], as shown in Fig. 23.5.

Deflectionmeasuring

scheme

Bandpassfilter

Phaseshifter

Automaticgain control

(AGC)

Actuator

MountCantilever

SampleDamping Frequency

Fig. 23.5 Block diagram of a frequency-modulation forcesensor

10 nm

Fig. 23.6 First AFM image of the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface.Parameters: k = 17 Nm, f0 = 114 kHz, Q = 28 000, A =34 nm, Δf = −70 Hz, Vt = 0 V

Experimental Set-UpThe deflection signal is phase-shifted, routed throughan automatic gain control circuit and fed back to the ac-tuator. The frequency f is a function of f0, its qualityfactor Q, and the phase shift φ between the mechanicalexcitation generated at the actuator and the deflectionof the cantilever. If φ = π/2, the loop oscillates atf = f0. Three physical observables can be recorded:(1) a change in the resonance frequency Δ f , (2) thecontrol signal of the automatic gain control unit asa measure of the tip–sample energy dissipation, and(3) an average tunneling current (for conducting can-tilevers and tips).

ApplicationsFM-AFM was introduced by Albrecht and cowork-ers in magnetic force microscopy [23.32]. The noiselevel and imaging speed was enhanced significantlycompared to amplitude-modulation techniques. Achiev-ing atomic resolution on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surfacehas been an important step in the development of

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the STM [23.39] and, in 1994, this surface was im-aged by AFM with true atomic resolution for the firsttime [23.33] (Fig. 23.6).

The initial parameters which provided true atomicresolution (see caption of Fig. 23.6) were found empir-ically. Surprisingly, the amplitude necessary to obtaingood results was very large compared to atomic dimen-sions. It turned out later that the amplitudes had to be solarge to fulfill the stability criteria listed in Sect. 23.1.5.Cantilevers with k ≈ 2000 N/m can be operated withamplitudes in the Å-range [23.24].

23.1.7 Relation Between Frequency Shiftand Forces

The cantilever (spring constant k, effective mass m∗) isa macroscopic object and its motion can be describedby classical mechanics. Figure 23.7 shows the deflec-

Sample

d+2A

d+A

d0

q(t) q'(t)

A

0

– Ad

Cantilever

Fig. 23.7 Schematic view of an oscillating cantilever anddefinition of geometric terms

z (Å)

kts (N/m), weight function w(z,A) (0.1/nm)75

50

25

0

– 25

– 502 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Tip–sample force gradient

w (z, A = 1 Å)

w (z, A = 5 Å)

w (z, A = 10 Å)

Fig. 23.8 The tip–sample force gradient kts and weight function forthe calculation of the frequency shift

tion q′(t) of the tip of the cantilever: it oscillates with anamplitude A at a distance q(t) from a sample.

Generic CalculationThe Hamiltonian of the cantilever is

H = p2

2m∗ + kq′2

2+ Vts(q) (23.10)

where p = m∗ dq′/dt. The unperturbed motion is givenby

q′(t) = A cos(2π f0t) (23.11)

and the frequency is

f0 = 1

2π

√k

m∗ . (23.12)

If the force gradient kts = −∂Fts/∂z = ∂2Vts/∂z2 isconstant during the oscillation cycle, the calculation ofthe frequency shift is trivial

Δ f = f0

2kkts . (23.13)

However, in classic FM-AFM kts varies over ordersof magnitude during one oscillation cycle and a pertur-bation approach, as shown below, has to be employedfor the calculation of the frequency shift.

Hamilton–Jacobi MethodThe first derivation of the frequency shift in FM-AFMwas achieved in 1997 [23.38] using canonical perturba-tion theory [23.40]. The result of this calculation is

Δ f = − f0

kA2

⟨Ftsq

′⟩

= − f0

kA2

1/ f0∫

0

Fts(d + A +q′(t))q′(t)dt . (23.14)

The applicability of first-order perturbation theoryis justified because, in FM-AFM, E is typically inthe range of several keV, while Vts is of the order ofa few eV. DÃ¼rig [23.41] found a generalized algo-rithm that even allows one to reconstruct the tip–samplepotential if not only the frequency shift, but the higherharmonics of the cantilever oscillation are known.

A Descriptive Expression for Frequency Shiftsas a Function of the Tip–Sample Forces

With integration by parts, the complicated expression(23.14) is transformed into a very simple expression thatresembles (23.13) [23.42]

Δ f = f0

2k

A∫

−A

kts(z −q′)

√A2 −q′2π2 kA2

dq′ . (23.15)

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Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy and Related Topics 23.2 Applications to Semiconductors 641

This expression is closely related to (23.13): the con-stant kts is replaced by a weighted average, where theweight function w(q′, A) is a semicircle with radius Adivided by the area of the semicircle π A2/2 (Fig. 23.8).For A → 0, w(q′, A) is a representation of Dirac’s deltafunction and the trivial zero-amplitude result of (23.13)is immediately recovered. The frequency shift resultsfrom a convolution between the tip–sample force gradi-ent and weight function. This convolution can easily bereversed with a linear transformation and the tip–sampleforce can be recovered from the curve of frequency shiftversus distance [23.42].

The dependence of the frequency shift on ampli-tude confirms an empirical conjecture: small amplitudesincrease the sensitivity to short-range forces. Adjust-ing the amplitude in FM-AFM is comparable to tuningan optical spectrometer to a passing wavelength. Whenshort-range interactions are to be probed, the ampli-tude should be in the range of the short-range forces.While using amplitudes in the Å-range has been elusivewith conventional cantilevers because of the instabil-ity problems described in Sect. 23.1.5, cantilevers witha stiffness of the order of 1000 N/m like those intro-duced in [23.23] are well suited for small-amplitudeoperation.

23.1.8 Noise in Frequency ModulationAFM: Generic Calculation

The vertical noise in FM-AFM is given by the ratio be-tween the noise in the imaging signal and the slope ofthe imaging signal with respect to z

δz = δΔ f∣∣∣ ∂Δ f∂z

∣∣∣. (23.16)

Figure 23.9 shows a typical curve of frequencyshift versus distance. Because the distance between thetip and sample is measured indirectly through the fre-quency shift, it is clearly evident from Fig. 23.9 thatthe noise in the frequency measurement δΔ f trans-lates into vertical noise δz and is given by the ratiobetween δΔ f and the slope of the frequency shift curveΔ f (z) (23.16). Low vertical noise is obtained for a low-

z (arb. units)

Δ f (arb. units)

δΔ f

δz

Fig. 23.9 Plot of the frequency shift Δf as a function of thetip–sample distance z. The noise in the tip–sample distance mea-surement is given by the noise of the frequency measurement δΔfdivided by the slope of the frequency shift curve

noise frequency measurement and a steep slope of thefrequency-shift curve.

The frequency noise δΔ f is typically inversely pro-portional to the cantilever amplitude A [23.32, 43]. Thederivative of the frequency shift with distance is con-stant for A � λ where λ is the range of the tip–sampleinteraction and proportional to A−1.5 for A λ [23.38].Thus, minimal noise occurs if [23.44]

Aoptimal ≈ λ (23.17)

for chemical forces, λ ≈ 1 Å. However, for stabil-ity reasons, (Sect. 23.1.5) extremely stiff cantileversare needed for small-amplitude operation. The excel-lent noise performance of the stiff cantilever and thesmall-amplitude technique has been verified experimen-tally [23.24].

23.1.9 Conclusion

Dynamic force microscopy, and in particular frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy has matured intoa viable technique that allows true atomic resolution ofconducting and insulating surfaces and spectroscopicmeasurements on individual atoms [23.10, 45]. Eventrue atomic resolution in lateral force microscopy is nowpossible [23.46]. Challenges remain in the chemicalcomposition and structural arrangement of the AFM tip.

23.2 Applications to Semiconductors

For the first time, corner holes and adatoms on theSi(111)-(7 × 7) surface have been observed in very localareas by Giessible using pure noncontact AFM in ultra-

high vacuum (UHV) [23.33]. This was the breakthroughof true atomic-resolution imaging on a well-definedclean surface using the noncontact AFM. Since then,

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c)b)

15 Hz

46.6 Å

b

3 Hzaa)

Fig. 23.10a–c Noncontact-mode AFM images of a Si(111)-(7 × 7) reconstructed surface obtained using the Si tips(a) without and (b) with a dangling bond. The scan area is 99 Å × 99 Å. (c) The cross-sectional profiles along the longdiagonal of the 7 × 7 unit cell indicated by the white lines in (a) and (b)

Si(111)-(7 × 7) [23.34, 35, 45, 47], InP(110) [23.48] andSi(100)-(2 × 1) [23.34] surfaces have been successivelyresolved with true atomic resolution. Furthermore, ther-mally induced motion of atoms or atomic-scale pointdefects on a InP(110) surface have been observed atroom temperature [23.48]. In this section we will de-scribe typical results of atomically resolved noncontactAFM imaging of semiconductor surfaces.

23.2.1 Si(111)-(7×7) Surface

Figure 23.10 shows the atomic-resolution images ofthe Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface [23.49]. Here, Fig. 23.10a

b)

a)

1.4 Å

23.3Å

1.7Å

Fig. 23.11 (a) Noncontact mode AFM image with contrast of in-equivalent adatoms and (b) a cross-sectional profile indicated by thewhite line. The halves of the 7 × 7 unit cell surrounded by the solidline and broken line correspond to the faulted and unfaulted halves,respectively. The scan area is 89 Å × 89 Å

(type I) was obtained using the Si tip without dan-gling, which is covered with an inert oxide layer.Figure 23.10b (type II) was obtained using the Si tipwith a dangling bond, on which the Si atoms were de-posited due the mechanical soft contact between the tipand the Si surface. The variable frequency shift modewas used. We can see not only adatoms and cornerholes but also missing adatoms described by the dimer–adatom–stacking (DAS) fault model. We can see thatthe image contrast in Fig. 23.10b is clearly stronger thanthat in Fig. 23.10a.

Interestingly, by using the Si tip with a danglingbond, we observed contrast between inequivalent halvesand between inequivalent adatoms of the 7 × 7 unit cell.Namely, as shown in Fig. 23.11a, the faulted halves(surrounded with a solid line) are brighter than the un-faulted halves (surrounded with a broken line). Here, thepositions of the faulted and unfaulted halves were deter-mined from the step direction. From the cross-sectionalprofile along the long diagonal of the 7 × 7 unit cellin Fig. 23.11b, the heights of the corner adatoms areslightly higher than those of the adjacent center adatomsin the faulted and unfaulted halves of the unit cell. Themeasured corrugation are in the following decreasingorder: Co-F > Ce-F > Co-U > Ce-U, where Co-F andCe-F indicate the corner and center adatoms in faultedhalves, and Co-U and Ce-U indicate the corner and cen-ter adatoms in unfaulted halves, respectively. Averagingover several units, the corrugation height differences areestimated to be 0.25 Å, 0.15 Å and 0.05 Å for Co-F,Ce-F and Co-U, respectively, with respect to to Ce-U.This tendency, that the heights of the corner adatomsare higher than those of the center adatoms, is consis-tent with the experimental results using a silicon tip[23.47], although they could not determine the faultedand unfaulted halves of the unit cell in the measured

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AFM images. However, this tendency is completelycontrary to the experimental results using a tungstentip [23.35]. This difference may originate from the dif-ference between the tip materials, which seems to affectthe interaction between the tip and the reactive samplesurface. Another possibility is that the tip is in con-tact with the surface during the small fraction of theoscillating cycle in their experiments [23.35].

We consider that the contrast between inequivalentadatoms is not caused by tip artifacts for the follow-ing reasons: (1) each adatom, corner hole and defectwas clearly observed, (2) the apparent heights of theadatoms are the same whether they are located adjacentto defects or not, and (3) the same contrast in severalimages for the different tips has been observed.

It should be noted that the corrugation amplitudeof adatoms ≈ 1.4 Å in Fig. 23.11b is higher than thatof 0.8–1.0 Å obtained with the STM, although the depthof the corner holes obtained with noncontact AFM is al-most the same as that observed with STM. Moreover, innoncontact-mode AFM images, the corrugation ampli-tude of adatoms was frequently larger than the depth ofthe corner holes. The origin of such large corrugationof adatoms may be due to the effect of the chemicalinteraction, but is not yet clear.

The atom positions, surface energies, dynamic prop-erties and chemical reactivities on the Si(111)-(7 × 7)reconstructed surface have been extensively investi-gated theoretically and experimentally. From theseinvestigations, the possible origins of the contrast be-tween inequivalent adatoms in AFM images are thefollowings: the true atomic heights that correspond tothe adatom core positions, the stiffness (spring constant)of interatomic bonding with the adatoms correspondingto the frequencies of the surface mode, the charge onthe adatom, and the chemical reactivity of the adatoms.Table 23.1 summarizes the decreasing orders of theinequivalent adatoms for individual property. From Ta-ble 23.1, we can see that the calculated adatom heightsand the stiffness of interatomic bonding cannot explain

Table 23.1 Comparison between the adatom heights observed in an AFM image and the variety of properties for inequiv-alent adatoms

Decreasing order Agreement

AFM image Co-F > Ce-F > Co-U > Ce-U –

Calculated height Co-F > Co-U > Ce-F > Ce-U ×

Stiffness of interatomic bonding Ce-U > Co-U > Ce-F > Co-F ×

Amount of charge of adatom Co-F > Ce-F > Co-U > Ce-U ©Calculated chemical reactivity Faulted > unfaulted ©Experimental chemical reactivity Co-F > Ce-F > Co-U > Ce-U ©

the AFM data, while the amount of charge of adatomand the chemical reactivity of adatoms can explain theour data. The contrast due to the amount of charge ofadatom means that the AFM image is originated fromthe difference of the vdW or electrostatic physical inter-actions between the tip and the valence electrons at theadatoms. The contrast due to the chemical reactivity ofadatoms means that the AFM image is originated fromthe difference of covalent bonding chemical interactionbetween the atoms at the tip apex and dangling bondof adatoms. Thus, we can see there are two possibleinteractions which explain the strong contrast betweeninequivalent adatoms of 7 × 7 unit cell observed usingthe Si tip with dangling bond.

The weak-contrast image in Fig. 23.10a is due tovdW and/or electrostatic force interactions. On theother hand, the strong-contrast images in Figs. 23.10band 23.11a are due to a covalent bonding formation be-tween the AFM tip with Si atoms and Si adatoms. Theseresults indicate the capability of the noncontact-modeAFM to image the variation in chemical reactivity of Siadatoms. In the future, by controlling an atomic speciesat the tip apex, the study of chemical reactivity on anatomic scale will be possible using noncontact AFM.

23.2.2 Si(100)-(2× 1) and Si(100)-(2× 1):HMonohydride Surfaces

In order to investigate the imaging mechanism of thenoncontact AFM, a comparative study between a reac-tive surface and an insensitive surface using the same tipis very useful. Si(100)-(2 × 1):H monohydride surface isa Si(100)-(2 × 1) reconstructed surface that is terminatedby a hydrogen atom. It does not reconstruct as metalis deposited on the semiconductor surface. The surfacestructure hardly changes. Thus, the Si(100)-(2 × 1):Hmonohydride surface is one of most useful surface fora model system to investigate the imaging mechanism,experimentally and theoretically. Furthermore, whetherthe interaction between a very small atom such as hy-

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b)

a)

46 Å

9 Hz

AA

3.3.2±0.1 Å0.1 Å

B

Fig. 23.12 (a) Noncontact AFM image of a Si(001)(2 × 1)reconstructed surface. The scan area was 69 × 46 Å. One2 × 1 unit cell is outlined with a box. White rows are su-perimposed to show the bright spots arrangement. Thedistance between the bright spots on the dimer row is3.2±0.1 Å. On the white arc, the alternative bright spotsare shown. (b) Cross-sectional profile indicated by thewhite dotted line

drogen and a tip apex is observable with noncontactAFM is interested. Here, we show noncontact AFMimages measured on a Si(100)-(2 × 1) reconstructed sur-face with a dangling bond and on a Si(100)-(2 × 1):Hmonohydride surface on which the dangling bond isterminated by a hydrogen atom [23.50].

Figure 23.12a shows the atomic-resolution image ofthe Si(100)-(2 × 1) reconstructed surface. Pairs of brightspots arranged in rows with a 2 × 1 symmetry wereobserved with clear contrast. Missing pairs of brightspots were also observed, as indicated by arrows. Fur-thermore, the pairs of bright spots are shown by thewhite dashed arc and appear to be the stabilize-buckledasymmetric dimer structure. Furthermore, the distancebetween the pairs of bright spots is 3.2±0.1 Å.

Figure 23.13a shows the atomic-resolution im-age of the Si(100)-(2 × 1):H monohydride surface.Pairs of bright spots arranged in rows were ob-served. Missing paired bright spots as well as thosepaired in rows and single bright spots were ob-served, as indicated by arrows. Furthermore, thedistance between paired bright spots is 3.5 ± 0.1 Å.This distance of 3.5 ± 0.1 Å is 0.2 Å larger thanthat of the Si(100)-(2 × 1) reconstructed surface.Namely, it is found that the distance betweenbright spots increases in size due to the hydrogentermination.

34 Å

6 Hzb)

a)

3.3.5±0.0.1 Å

Fig. 23.13 (a) Noncontact AFM image of Si(001)-(2 × 1):Hsurface. The scan area was 69 × 46 Å. One 2 × 1 unit cellis outlined with a box. White rows are superimposed toshow the bright spots arrangement. The distance betweenthe bright spots on the dimer row is 3.5±0.1 Å. (b) Cross-sectional profile indicated by the white dotted line

The bright spots in Fig. 23.12 do not merely imagethe silicon-atom site, because the distance between thebright spots forming the dimer structure of Fig. 23.12a,3.2±0.1 Å, is lager than the distance between siliconatoms of every dimer structure model. (The maximumis the distance between the upper silicones in an asym-metric dimer structure 2.9 Å.) This seems to be due tothe contribution to the imaging of the chemical bondinginteraction between the dangling bond from the apex ofthe silicon tip and the dangling bond on the Si(100)-(2 × 1) reconstructed surface. Namely, the chemicalbonding interaction operates strongly, with strong direc-tion dependence, between the dangling bond pointingout of the silicon dimer structure on the Si(100)-(2 × 1)reconstructed surface and the dangling bond pointingout of the apex of the silicon tip; a dimer structure isobtained with a larger separation than between siliconeson the surface.

The bright spots in Fig. 23.13 seem to be located athydrogen atom sites on the Si(100)-(2 × 1):H monohy-dride surface, because the distance between the brightspots forming the dimer structure (3.5±0.1 Å) approx-imately agrees with the distance between the hydrogens,i. e., 3.52 Å. Thus, the noncontact AFM atomically re-solved the individual hydrogen atoms on the topmostlayer. On this surface, the dangling bond is terminatedby a hydrogen atom, and the hydrogen atom on thetopmost layer does not have chemical reactivity. There-fore, the interaction between the hydrogen atom on

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the topmost layer and the apex of the silicon tip doesnot contribute to the chemical bonding interaction withstrong direction dependence as on the silicon surface,and the bright spots in the noncontact AFM image cor-respond to the hydrogen atom sites on the topmost layer.

23.2.3 Metal Deposited Si Surface

In this section, we will introduce the comparative studyof force interactions between a Si tip and a metal-deposited Si surface, and between a metal adsorbedSi tip and a metal-deposited Si surface [23.51, 52]. Asfor the metal-deposited Si surface, Si(111)-(

√3 ×

√3)-

Ag (hereafter referred to as√

3-Ag) surface wasused.

For the√

3-Ag surface, the honeycomb-chainedtrimer (HCT) model has been accepted as the appro-priate model. As shown in Fig. 23.14, this structurecontains a Si trimer in the second layer, 0.75 Å belowthe Ag trimer in the topmost layer. The topmost Agatoms and lower Si atoms form covalent bonds. Theinteratomic distances between the nearest-neighbor Agatoms forming the Ag trimer and between the lower Siatoms forming the Si trimer are 3.43 and 2.31 Å, re-spectively. The apexes of the Si trimers and Ag trimersface the [112̄] direction and the direction tilted a little tothe [1̄1̄2] direction, respectively.

In Fig. 23.15, we show the noncontact AFM imagesmeasured using a normal Si tip at a frequency shift of(a) −37 Hz, (b) −43 Hz and (c) −51 Hz, respectively.These frequency shifts correspond to tip–sample dis-tances of about 0–3 Å. We defined the zero positionof the tip–sample distance, i. e., the contact point, asthe point at which the vibration amplitude began to de-crease. The rhombus indicates the

√3 ×

√3 unit cell.

When the tip approached the surface, the contrast ofthe noncontact AFM images become strong and thepattern changed remarkably. That is, by approachingthe tip toward the sample surface, the hexagonal pat-tern, the trefoil-like pattern composed of three darklines, and the triangle pattern can be observed sequen-tially. In Fig. 23.15a, the distance between the bright

≈3.3.0 Å≈3.3.9 Å

a) b) c)

[11[112–

] [11[112–

] [11[112–

]

Fig. 23.15a–c Noncontact AFM images ob-tained at frequency shifts of (a) −37 Hz,(b) −43 Hz, and (c) −51 Hz on a Si(111)-(

√3×√

3)-Ag surface. This distance dependencewas obtained with a Si tip. The scan area is38 Å × 34 Å. A rhombus indicates the

√3 ×

√3

unit cell

Top view

Side view

[112]

[112]

Si

2.31 Å

6.65 ÅAg

3.43 Å

0.75 Å

Fig. 23.14 HCT model for the structure of the Si(111)-(√

3 ×√

3)-Ag surface. Black closed circle, gray closed circle, open circle, andclosed circle with horizontal line indicate Ag atom at the topmostlayer, Si atom at the second layer, Si atom at the third layer, andSi atom at the fourth layer, respectively. The rhombus indicates the√

3 ×√

3 unit cell. The thick, large, solid triangle indicates an Agtrimer. The thin, small, solid triangle indicates a Si trimer

spots is 3.9±0.2Å. In Fig. 23.15c, the distance betweenthe bright spots is 3.0±0.2 Å, and the direction of the

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≈3.53.5 Å

a) b) c)

[11[112

–] [11[112

–] [11[112

–]

Fig. 23.16a–c Noncontact AFM images ob-tained at frequency shifts of (a) −4.4 Hz,(b) −6.9 Hz, and (c) −9.4 Hz on a Si(111)-(√

3 ×√

3)-Ag surface. This distancedependence was obtained with the Ag-adsorbed tip. The scan area is 38 Å × 34 Å

apex of all the triangles composed of three bright spotsis [112̄].

In Fig. 23.16, we show the noncontact AFM im-ages measured by using Ag-absorbed tip at a frequencyshift of (a) −4.4 Hz, (b) −6.9 Hz and (c) −9.4 Hz,respectively. The tip–sample distances Z are roughly es-timated to be Z = 1.9, 0.6 and ≈ 0 Å (in the noncontactregion), respectively. When the tip approached the sur-face, the pattern of the noncontact AFM images did notchange, although the contrast become clearer. A trian-gle pattern can be observed. The distance between thebright spots is 3.5±0.2 Å. The direction of the apex ofall the triangles composed of three bright spots is tilteda little from the [1̄1̄2] direction.

Thus, noncontact AFM images measured onSi(111)-(

√3×

√3)-Ag surface showed two types of dis-

tance dependence in the image patterns depending onthe atom species on the apex of the tip.

By using the normal Si tip with a dangling bond, inFig. 23.15a, the measured distance between the brightspot of 3.9±0.2 Å agrees with the distance of 3.84 Åbetween the centers of the Ag trimers in the HCT modelwithin the experimental error. Furthermore, the hexag-onal pattern composed of six bright spots also agreeswith the honeycomb structure of the Ag trimer in HCTmodel. So the most appropriate site corresponding tothe bright spots in Fig. 23.15a is the site of the cen-ter of Ag trimers. In Fig. 23.15c, the measured distanceof 3.0±0.2 Å between the bright spots forming the tri-angle pattern agrees with neither the distance betweenthe Si trimer of 2.31 Å nor the distance between theAg trimer of 3.43 Å in the HCT model, while the di-rection of the apex of the triangles composed of threebright spots agrees with the [112̄] direction of the apexof the Si trimer in the HCT model. So the most appropri-ate site corresponding to the bright spots in Fig. 23.15cis the intermediate site between the Si atoms and Agatoms. On the other hand, by using the Ag-adsorbedtip, the measured distance between the bright spots of3.5 ±0.2 Å in Fig. 23.16 agrees with the distance of3.43 Å between the nearest-neighbor Ag atoms form-ing the Ag trimer in the topmost layer in the HCT

model within the experimental error. Furthermore, thedirection of the apex of the triangles composed ofthree bright spots also agrees with the direction of theapex of the Ag trimer, i. e., tilted [1̄1̄2], in the HCTmodel. So, the most appropriate site corresponding tothe bright spots in Fig. 23.16 is the site of individ-ual Ag atoms forming the Ag trimer in the topmostlayer.

It should be noted that, by using the noncontactAFM with a Ag-adsorbed tip, for the first time, theindividual Ag atom on the

√3-Ag surface could be re-

solved in real space, although by using the noncontactAFM with an Si tip, it could not be resolved. So far,the

√3-Ag surface has been observed by a scanning

tunneling microscope (STM) with atomic resolution.However, the STM can also measure the local chargedensity of states near the Fermi level on the surface.From first-principle calculations, it was proven that un-occupied surface states are densely distributed around

a) b)

Danglingbond

AdsorbedAg atom

Si tip

Si

Ag

Si tip

Si

Si

Si

Ag

Ag

Fig. 23.17a,b Schematic illustration of (a) the Si atom withdangling bond and (b) the Ag-adsorbed tip above theSi−Ag covalent bond on a Si(111)-(

√3 ×

√3)-Ag surface

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Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy and Related Topics 23.3 Applications to Insulators 647

the center of the Ag trimer. As a result, bright contrastis obtained at the center of the Ag trimer with the STM.

Finally, we consider the origin of the atomic-resolution imaging of the individual Ag atoms on the√

3-Ag surface. Here, we discuss the difference be-tween the force interactions when using the Si tip andthe Ag-adsorbed tip. As shown in Fig. 23.17a, when us-ing the Si tip, there is a dangling bond pointing outof the topmost Si atom on the apex of the Si tip. Asa result, the force interaction is dominated by physi-cal bonding interactions, such as the Coulomb force,far from the surface and by chemical bonding inter-action very close to the surface. Namely, if a reactiveSi tip with a dangling bond approaches a surface, atdistances far from the surface the Coulomb force actsbetween the electron localized on the dangling bondpointing out of the topmost Si atom on the apex of thetip, and the positive charge distributed around the centerof the Ag trimer. At distances very close to the sur-face, the chemical bonding interaction will occur dueto the onset of orbital hybridization between the dan-gling bond pointing out of the topmost Si atom on the

apex of the Si tip and a Si−Ag covalent bond on thesurface. Hence, the individual Ag atoms will not be re-solved and the image pattern will change depending onthe tip–sample distance. On the other hand, as shownin Fig. 23.17b, by using the Ag-adsorbed tip, the dan-gling bond localized out of topmost Si atom on the apexof the Si tip is terminated by the adsorbed Ag atom.As a result, even at very close tip–sample distances,the force interaction is dominated by physical bond-ing interactions such as the vdW force. Namely, if theAg-adsorbed tip approaches the surface, the vdW forceacts between the Ag atom on the apex of the tip andthe Ag or Si atom on the surface. Ag atoms in the top-most layer of the

√3-Ag surface are located higher than

the Si atoms in the lower layer. Hence, the individualAg atoms (or their nearly true topography) will be re-solved, and the image pattern will not change even atvery small tip–sample distances. It should be empha-sized that there is a possibility to identify or recognizeatomic species on a sample surface using noncontactAFM if we can control the atomic species at the tipapex.

23.3 Applications to Insulators

Insulators such as alkali halides, fluorides, and metaloxides are key materials in many applications, in-cluding optics, microelectronics, catalysis, and so on.Surface properties are important in these technolo-gies, but they are usually poorly understood. This isdue to their low conductivity, which makes it diffi-cult to investigate them using electron- and ion-basedmeasurement techniques such as low-energy electrondiffraction, ion-scattering spectroscopy, and scanningtunneling microscopy (STM). Surface imaging by non-contact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) does notrequire a sample surface with a high conductivity be-cause NC-AFM detects a force between the tip on thecantilever and the surface of the sample. Since the firstreport of atomically resolved NC-AFM on a Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface [23.33], several groups have succeededin obtaining true atomic resolution images of insulators,including defects, and it has been shown that NC-AFMis a powerful new tool for atomic-scale surface investi-gation of insulators.

In this section we will describe typical results ofatomically resolved NC-AFM imaging of insulatorssuch as alkali halides, fluorides and metal oxides. Forthe alkali halides and fluorides, we will focus on con-trast formation, which is the most important issue

for interpreting atomically resolved images of binarycompounds on the basis of experimental and theoret-ical results. For the metal oxides, typical examples ofatomically resolved imaging will be exhibited and thedifference between the STM and NC-AFM images willbe demonstrated. Also, theoretical studies on the in-teraction between realistic Si tips and representativeoxide surfaces will be shown. Finally, we will de-scribe an antiferromagnetic NiO(001) surface imagedwith a ferromagentic tip to explore the possibility ofdetecting short-range magnetic interactions using theNC-AFM.

23.3.1 Alkali Halides, Fluoridesand Metal Oxides

The surfaces of alkali halides were the first insu-lating materials to be imaged by NC-AFM withtrue atomic resolution [23.53]. To date, there havebeen reports on atomically resolved images of (001)cleaved surfaces for single-crystal NaF, RbBr, LiF, KI,NaCl, [23.54], KBr [23.55] and thin films of NaCl(001)on Cu(111) [23.56]. In this section we describe the con-trast formation of alkali halides surfaces on the basis ofexperimental and theoretical results.

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Alkali HalidesIn experiments on alkali halides, the symmetry of theobserved topographic images indicates that the protru-sions exhibit only one type of ions, either the positiveor negatively charged ions. This leads to the conclusionthat the atomic contrast is dominantly caused by electro-static interactions between a charged atom at the apexof the tip and the surface ions, i. e. long-range forcesbetween the macroscopic tip and the sample, such asthe van der Waals force, are modulated by an alternat-ing short-range electrostatic interaction with the surfaceions. Theoretical work employing the atomistic simula-tion technique has revealed the mechanism for contrastformation on an ionic surface [23.57]. A significant partof the contrast is due to the displacement of ions inthe force field, not only enhancing the atomic corruga-tions, but also contributing to the electrostatic potentialby forming dipoles at the surface. The experimentallyobserved atomic corrugation height is determined bythe interplay of the long- and short-range forces. In thecase of NaCl, it has been experimentally demonstratedthat a blunter tip produces a lager corrugation whenthe tip–sample distance is shorter [23.54]. This resultshows that the increased long-range forces induced bya blunter tip allow for more stable imaging closer tothe surface. The stronger electrostatic short-range in-teraction and lager ion displacement produce a morepronounced atomic corrugation. At steps and kinks onan NaCl thin film on Cu(111), the corrugation ampli-tude of atoms with low coordination number has beenobserved to increase by a factor of up to two more thanthat of atomically flat terraces [23.56]. The low coordi-nation number of the ions results in an enhancement ofthe electrostatic potential over the site and an increase inthe displacement induced by the interaction with the tip.

Theoretical study predicts that the image contrastdepends on the chemical species at the apex of the tip.Bennewitz et al. [23.56] have performed the calcula-tions using an MgO tip terminated by oxygen and anMg ion. The magnitude of the atomic contrast for theMg-terminated tip shows a slight increase in compari-son with an oxygen-terminated tip. The atomic contrastwith the oxygen-terminated tip is dominated by the at-tractive electrostatic interaction between the oxygen onthe tip apex and the Na ion, but the Mg-terminated tipattractively interacts with the Cl ion. In other words,these results demonstrated that the species of the ion im-aged as the bright protrusions depends on the polarity ofthe tip apex.

These theoretical results emphasized the importanceof the atomic species at the tip apex for the alkali halide

(001) surface, while it is not straightforward to definethe nature of the tip apex experimentally because ofthe high symmetry of the surface structure. However,there are a few experiments exploring the possibilitiesto determine the polarity of the tip apex. Bennewitzet al. [23.58] studied imaging of surfaces of a mixedalkali halide crystal, which was designed to observe thechemically inhomogeneous surface. The mixed crystalis composed of 60% KCl and 40% KBr, with the Cl andBr ions interfused randomly in the crystal. The image ofthe cleaved KCl0.6Br0.4(001) surface indicates that onlyone type of ion is imaged as protrusions, as if it werea pure alkali halide crystal. However, the amplitude ofthe atomic corrugation varies strongly between the po-sitions of the ions imaged as depressions. This variationin the corrugations corresponds to the constituents ofthe crystal, i. e. the Cl and Br ions, and it is concludedthat the tip apex is negatively charged. Moreover, thedeep depressions can be assigned to Br ions by com-paring the number with the relative density of anions.The difference between Cl and Br anions with differ-ent masses is enhanced in the damping signal measuredsimultaneously with the topographic image [23.59].The damping is recorded as an increase in the exci-tation amplitude necessary to maintain the oscillationamplitude of the cantilever in the constant-amplitudemode [23.56]. Although the dissipation phenomena onan atomic scale are a subject under discussion, any dis-sipative interaction must generally induce energy lossesin the cantilever oscillation [23.60, 61]. The measure-ment of energy dissipation has the potential to enablechemical discrimination on an atomic scale. Recently,a new procedure for species recognition on a alkalihalide surface was proposed [23.62]. This method isbased on a comparison between theoretical results andthe site-specific measurement of frequency versus dis-tance. The differences in the force curves measured atthe typical sites, such as protrusion, depression, andtheir bridge position, are compared to the correspond-ing differences obtained from atomistic simulation. Thepolarity of the tip apex can be determined, leading to theidentification of the surface species. This method is ap-plicable to highly symmetric surfaces and is useful fordetermining the sign of the tip polarity.

FluoridesFluorides are important materials for the progress ofan atomic-scale-resolution NC-AFM imaging of insula-tors. There are reports in the literature of surface imagesfor single-crystal BaF2, SrF2 [23.63], CaF2 [23.64–66]and a CaF bilayer on Si(111) [23.67]. Surfaces of

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fluorite-type crystals are prepared by cleaving alongthe (111) planes. Their structure is more complex thanthe structure of alkali halides, which have a rock-salt structure. The complexity is of great interest foratomic-resolution imaging using NC-AFM and alsofor theoretical predictions of the interpretation of theatomic-scale contrast information.

The first atomically resolved images of a CaF2(111)surface were obtained in topographic mode [23.65], andthe surface ions mostly appear as spherical caps. Barthet al. [23.68] have found that the CaF2(111) surfaceimages obtained by using the constant-height mode, inwhich the frequency shift is recorded with a very lowloop gain, can be categorized into two contrast patterns.In the first of these the ions appear as triangles and inthe second they have the appearance of circles, similarto the contrast obtained in a topographic image. The-oretical studies demonstrated that these two differentcontrast patterns could be explained as a result of imag-ing with tips of different polarity [23.68–70]. Whenimaging with a positively charged (cation-terminated)tip, the triangular pattern appears. In this case, the con-trast is dominated by the strong short-range electrostaticattraction between the positive tip and the negativeF ions. The cross section along the [121] direction ofthe triangular image shows two maxima: one is a largerpeak over the F(I) ions located in the topmost layerand the other is a smaller peak at the position of theF(III) ions in the third layer. The minima appear atthe position of the Ca ions in the second layer. Whenimaging with a negatively charged (anion-terminated)tip, the spherical image contrast appears and the mainperiodicity is created by the Ca ions between the top-most and the third F ion layers. In the cross sectionalong the [121] direction, the large maxima correspondto the Ca sites because of the strong attraction of thenegative tip and the minima appear at the sites of maxi-mum repulsion over the F(I) ions. At a position betweentwo F ions, there are smaller maxima. This reflects theweaker repulsion over the F(III) ion sites compared tothe protruding F(I) ion sites and a slower decay in thecontrast on one side of the Ca ions.

The triangular pattern obtained with a positivelycharged tip appears at relatively large tip–sample dis-tance, as shown in Fig. 23.18a. The cross section alongthe [121] direction, experiment results and theoreticalstudies both demonstrate the large-peak and small-shoulder characteristic for the triangular pattern image(Fig. 23.18d). When the tip approaches the surface moreclosely, the triangular pattern of the experimental im-ages is more vivid (Fig. 23.18b), as predicted in the

Detuning (Hz)

Distance (nm)

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)

f)

10

8

6

4

2

00 0.5 1 1.5 2

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

10

8

6

4

2

0

10

8

6

4

2

0

Fig. 23.18 (a)–(c) CaF2(111) surface images obtained by using theconstant-height mode. From (a) to (c) the frequency shift was low-ered. The white lines represent the positions of the cross section.(d)–(f) The cross section extracted from the Fourier-filtered im-ages of (a)–(c). The white and black arrows represent the scanningdirection. The images and the cross sections are from [23.68]

theoretical works. As the tip approaches, the amplitudeof the shoulder increases until it is equal to that of themain peak, and this feature gives rise to the honeycombpattern image, as shown in Fig. 23.18c. Moreover, the-oretical results predict that the image contrast changesagain when the tip apex is in close proximity to sur-face. Recently, Giessibl and Reichling [23.71] achievedatomic imaging in the repulsive region and proved ex-perimentally the predicted change of the image contrast.As described here, there is good correspondence in thedistance dependency of the image obtained by experi-mental and theoretical investigations.

From detailed theoretical analysis of the electro-static potential [23.72], it was suggested that the changein displacement of the ions due to the proximity of the

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tip plays an important role in the formation of the im-age contrast. Such a drastic change in image contrast,depending on both the polarity of the terminated tipatom and on the tip–sample distance, is inherent to thefluoride (111) surface, and this image-contrast featurecannot be seen on the (001) surface of alkali halideswith a simple crystal structure.

The results of careful experiments show anotherfeature: that the cross sections taken along the threeequivalent [121] directions do not yield identical re-sults [23.68]. It is thought that this can be attributedto the asymmetry of the nanocluster at the tip apex,which leads to different interactions in the equivalentdirections. A better understanding of the asymmetricimage contrast may require more complicated model-ing of the tip structure. In fact, it should be mentionedthat perfect tips on an atomic scale can occasionally beobtained. These tips do yield identical results in for-ward and backward scanning, and cross sections in thethree equivalent directions taken with this tip are almostidentical [23.74].

The fluoride (111) surface is an excellent standardsurface for calibrating tips on an atomic scale. Thepolarity of the tip-terminated atom can be determinedfrom the image contrast pattern (spherical or triangu-lar pattern). The irregularities in the tip structure canbe detected, since the surface structure is highly sym-metric. Therefore, once such a tip has been prepared,it can be used as a calibrated tip for imaging unknownsurfaces.

The polarity and shape of the tip apex play an im-portant role in interpreting NC-AFM images of alkalihalide and fluorides surfaces. It is expected that theachievement of good correlation between experimen-

3 nm 1nm

+9°

C

[1120]

a) b) c) d)

Fig. 23.19 (a) Image of the high-temperature, reconstructed clean α-Al2O3 surface obtained by using the constant-heightmode. The rhombus represents the unit cell of the (

√31 ×

√31)R +9◦ reconstructed surface. (b) Higher-magnification

image of (a). Imaging was performed at a reduced tip–sample distance. (c) Schematic representation of the indicatingregions of hexagonal order in the center of reconstructed rhombi. (d) Superposition of the hexagonal domain with recon-struction rhombi found by NC-AFM imaging. Atoms in the gray shaded regions are well ordered. The images and theschematic representations are from [23.73]

tal and theoretical studies will help to advance surfaceimaging of insulators by NC-AFM.

Metal OxidesMost of the metal oxides that have attracted strong in-terest for their technological importance are insulating.Therefore, in the case of atomically resolved imagingof metal oxide surfaces by STM, efforts to increasethe conductivity of the sample are needed, such as, theintroduction of anions or cations defects, doping withother atoms and surface observations during heating ofthe sample. However, in principle, NC-AFM providesthe possibility of observing nonconductive metal oxideswithout these efforts. In cases where the conductivityof the metal oxides is high enough for a tunneling cur-rent to flow, it should be noted that most surface imagesobtained by NC-AFM and STM are not identical.

Since the first report of atomically resolved im-ages on a TiO2(110) surface with oxygen pointdefects [23.75], they have also been reported on ru-tile TiO2(100) [23.76–78], anatase TiO2(001) thin filmon SrTiO3(100) [23.79] and on LaAO3(001) [23.80],SnO2(110) [23.81], NiO(001) [23.82, 83], SrTiO3(100)[23.84], CeO2(111) [23.85] and MoO3(010) [23.86]surfaces. Also, Barth and Reichling have succeededin obtaining atomically resolved NC-AFM images ofa clean α-Al2O3(0001) surface [23.73] and of a UHVcleaved MgO(001) [23.87] surface, which are impossi-ble to investigate using STM. In this section we describetypical results of the imaging of metal oxides by NC-AFM.

The α-Al2O3(0001) surface exists in several orderedphases that can reversibly be transformed into eachother by thermal treatments and oxygen exposure. It

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is known that the high-temperature phase has a large(√

31×√

31)R±9◦ unit cell. However, the details of theatomic structure of this surface have not been revealed,and two models have been proposed. Barth and Reich-ling [23.73] have directly observed this reconstructed α-Al2O3(0001) surface by NC-AFM. They confirmed thatthe dominant contrast of the low-magnification imagecorresponds to a rhombic grid representing a unit cellof (

√31 ×

√31)R +9◦, as shown in Fig. 23.19a. Also,

more details of the atomic structures were determinedfrom the higher-magnification image (Fig. 23.19b),which was taken at a reduced tip–sample distance. Inthis atomically resolved image, it was revealed that eachside of the rhombus is intersected by ten atomic rows,and that a hexagonal arrangement of atoms exists in thecenter of the rhombi (Fig. 23.19c). This feature agreeswith the proposed surface structure that predicts order inthe center of the hexagonal surface domains and disor-der at the domain boundaries. Their result is an excellentdemonstration of the capabilities of the NC-AFM forthe atomic-scale surface investigation of insulators.

The atomic structure of the SrTiO3(100)-(√

5×√

5)R26.6◦ surface, as well as that of Al2O3(0001)can be determined on the basis of the results of NC-AFM imaging [23.84]. SrTiO3 is one of the perovskiteoxides, and its (100) surface exhibits the many differ-ent kinds of reconstructed structures. In the case of the(√

5 ×√

5)R26.6◦ reconstruction, the oxygen vacancy–Ti3+–oxygen model (where the terminated surface isTiO2 and the observed spots are related to oxygenvacancies) was proposed from the results of STM imag-ing. As shown in Fig. 23.20, Kubo and Nozoye [23.84]have performed measurements using both STM andNC-AFM, and have found that the size of the brightspots as observed by NC-AFM is always smaller thanthat for STM measurement, and that the dark spots,

2 nm2 nm c10 nmnm ba

ba

a) b) c)

Sr atomTi atomO atom

[010]

[001]

Fig. 23.20 (a) STM and (b) NC-AFM images of a SrTiO3(100) surface. (c) A proposed model of the SrTiO3(100)-(√

5 ×√

5)R26.6◦ surface reconstruction. The images and the schematic representations are from [23.84]

which are not observed by STM, are arranged alongthe [001] and [010] directions in the NC-AFM image.A theoretical simulation of the NC-AFM image usingfirst-principles calculations shows that the bright anddark spots correspond to Sr and oxygen atoms, respec-tively. It has been proposed that the structural modelof the reconstructed surface consists of an ordered Sradatom located at the oxygen fourfold site on the TiO2-terminated layer (Fig. 23.20c).

Because STM images are related to the spatial dis-tribution of the wave functions near the Fermi level,atoms without a local density of states near the Fermilevel are generally invisible even on conductive mater-ials. On the other hand, the NC-AFM image reflectsthe strength of the tip–sample interaction force originat-ing from chemical, electrostatic and other interactions.Therefore, even STM and NC-AFM images obtainedusing an identical tip and sample may not be identicalgenerally. The simultaneous imaging of a metal ox-ide surface enables the investigation of a more detailedsurface structure. The images of a TiO2(110) surface si-multaneously obtained with STM and NC-AFM [23.78]are a typical example. The STM image shows that thedangling-bond states at the tip apex overlap with thedangling bonds of the 3d states protruding from the Tiatom, while the NC-AFM primarily imaged the upper-most oxygen atom.

Recently, calculations of the interaction of a Sitip with metal oxides surfaces, such as Al2O3(0001),TiO2(110), and MgO(001), were reported [23.88, 89].Previous simulations of AFM imaging of alkali halidesand fluorides assume that the tip would be oxides orcontaminated and hence have been performed witha model of ionic oxide tips. In the case of imaginga metal oxide surface, pure Si tips are appropriate fora more realistic tip model because the tip is sputtered for

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cleaning in many experiments. The results of ab initiocalculations for a Si tip with a dangling bond demon-strate that the balance between polarization of the tipand covalent bonding between the tip and the surfaceshould determine the tip–surface force. The interactionforce can be related to the nature of the surface elec-tronic structure. For wide-gap insulators with a largevalence-band offset that prevents significant electron-density transfer between the tip and the sample, theforce is dominated by polarization of the tip. Whenthe gap is narrow, the charge transfer increase and co-valent bonding dominates the tip–sample interaction.The forces over anions (oxygen ions) in the surfaceare larger than over cations (metal ions), as they playa more significant role in charge transfer. This impliesthat a pure Si tip would always show the brightest con-trast over the highest anions in the surface. In addition,Foster et al. [23.88] suggested the method of using ap-plied voltage, which controls the charge transfer, duringan AFM measurement to define the nature of tip apex.

The collaboration between experimental and theo-retical studies has made great progress in interpretingthe imaging mechanism for binary insulators surfaceand reveals that a well-defined tip with atomic resolu-tion is preferable for imaging a surface. As describedpreviously, a method for the evaluation of the natureof the tip has been developed. However, the most de-sirable solution would be the development of suitabletechniques for well-defined tip preparation and a fewattempts at controlled production of Si tips have beenreported [23.24, 90, 91].

23.3.2 Atomically Resolved Imagingof a NiO(001) Surface

The transition metal oxides, such as NiO, CoO, andFeO, feature the simultaneous existence of an energygap and unpaired electrons, which gives rise to a va-riety of magnetic property. Such magnetic insulatorsare widely used for the exchange biasing for mag-netic and spintronic devices. NC-AFM enables directsurface imaging of magnetic insulators on an atomicscale. The forces detected by NC-AFM originate fromseveral kinds of interaction between the surface andthe tip, including magnetic interactions in some cases.Theoretical studies predict that short-range magneticinteractions such as the exchange interaction should en-able the NC-AFM to image magnetic moments on anatomic scale. In this section, we will describe imagingof the antiferromagnetic NiO(001) surface using a ferro-magnetic tip. Also, theoretical studies of the exchange

force interaction between a magnetic tip and a samplewill be described.

Theoretical Studies of the Exchange ForceIn the system of a magnetic tip and sample, the inter-action detected by NC-AFM includes the short-rangemagnetic interaction in addition to the long-range mag-netic dipole interaction. The energy of the short-rangeinteraction depends on the electron spin states of theatoms on the apex of the tip and the sample surface,and the energy difference between spin alignments (par-allel or antiparallel) is referred to as the exchangeinteraction energy. Therefore, the short-range magneticinteraction leads to the atomic-scale magnetic contrast,depending on the local energy difference between spinalignments.

In the past, extensive theoretical studies on theshort-range magnetic interaction between a ferro-magnetic tip and a ferromagnetic sample have beenperformed by a simple calculation [23.92], a tight-binding approximation [23.93] and first-principles cal-culations [23.94]. In the calculations performed byNakamura et al. [23.94], three-atomic-layer Fe(001)films are used as a model for the tip and sample. Theexchange force is defined as the difference betweenthe forces in each spin configuration of the tip andsample (parallel and antiparallel). The result of thiscalculation demonstrates that the amplitude of the ex-change force is measurable for AFM (about 0.1 nN).Also, they forecasted that the discrimination of theexchange force would enable direct imaging of themagnetic moments on an atomic scale. Foster andShluger [23.95] have theoretically investigated the in-teraction between a spin-polarized H atom and a Niatom on a NiO(001) surface. They demonstrated thatthe difference in magnitude in the exchange interac-tion between opposite-spin Ni ions in a NiO surfacecould be sufficient to be measured in a low-temperatureNC-AFM experiment. Recently, first-principles calcu-lation of the interaction of a ferromagnetic Fe tip withan NiO surface has demonstrated that it should be feasi-ble to measure the difference in exchange force betweenopposite-spin Ni ions [23.96].

Atomically Resolved Imaging Using Noncoatedand Fe-Coated Si Tips

The detection of the exchange interaction is a chal-lenging task for NC-AFM applications. An antiferro-magnetic insulator NiO single crystal that has regularlyaligned atom sites with alternating electron spin statesis one of the best candidates to prove the feasibility of

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Distance along [100] direction (nm)

Height (pm)

0 1 2 3 4

50403020100

a)

b)

[010][010]

[100][100]

Fig. 23.21 (a) Atomically resolved image obtained with anFe-coated tip. (b) Shows the cross sections of the middlepart in (a). Their corrugations are about 30 pm

detecting the exchange force for the following reason.NiO has an antiferromagnetic AF2 structure as the moststable below the Néel temperature of 525 K. This well-defined magnetic structure, in which Ni atoms on the(001) surface are arranged in a checkerboard pattern,leads to the simple interpretation of an image containingthe atomic-scale contrast originating in the exchangeforce. In addition, a clean surface can easily be preparedby cleaving.

Figure 23.21a shows an atomically resolved imageof a NiO(001) surface with a ferromagnetic Fe-coatedtip [23.97]. The bright protrusions correspond to atomsspaced about 0.42 nm apart, consistent with the ex-pected periodic arrangement of the NiO(001) surface.The corrugation amplitude is typically 30 pm, whichis comparable to the value previously reported [23.82,83, 98–100], as shown in Fig. 23.21b. The atomic-resolution image (Fig. 23.21b), in which there is onemaximum and one minimum within the unit cell, re-

sembles that of the alkali halide (001) surface. Thesymmetry of the image reveals that only one type ofatom appears to be at the maximum. From this image,it seems difficult to distinguish which of the atoms areobserved as protrusions. The theoretical works indicatethat a metal tip interacts strongly with the oxygen atomson the MgO(001) surface [23.95]. From this result, it ispresumed that the bright protrusions correspond to theoxygen atoms. However, it is still questionable which ofthe atoms are visible with a Fe-coated tip.

If the short-range magnetic interaction is includedin the atomic image, the corrugation amplitude of theatoms should depend on the direction of the spin overthe atom site. From the results of first-principles cal-culations [23.94], the contribution of the short-rangemagnetic interaction to the measured corrugation am-plitude is expected to be about a few percent of thetotal interaction. Discrimination of such small perturba-tions is therefore needed. In order to reduce the noise,the corrugation amplitude was added on the basis ofthe periodicity of the NC-AFM image. In addition, thetopographical asymmetry, which is the index character-izing the difference in atomic corrugation amplitude,has been defined [23.101]. The result shows that thevalue of the topographical asymmetry calculated fromthe image obtained with an Fe-coated Si tip dependson the direction of summing of the corrugation am-plitude, and that the dependency corresponds to theantiferromagnetic spin ordering of the NiO(001) sur-face [23.101, 102]. Therefore, this result implies thatthe dependency of the topographical asymmetry origi-nates in the short-range magnetic interaction. However,in some cases the topographic asymmetry with uncoatedSi tips has a finite value [23.103]. The possibility thatthe asymmetry includes the influence of the structureof tip apex and of the relative orientation between thesurface and tip cannot be excluded. In addition, it issuggested that the absence of unambiguous exchangecontrast is due to the fact that surface ion instabilitiesoccur at tip–sample distances that are small enough fora magnetic interact [23.100]. Another possibility is thatthe magnetic properties of the tips are not yet fully con-trolled because the topographic asymmetries obtainedby Fe- and Ni-coated tips show no significant differ-ence [23.103]. In any cases, a careful comparison isneeded to evaluate the exchange interaction included inan atomic image.

From the aforementioned theoretical works, it ispresumed that a metallic tip has the capability to im-age an oxygen atom as a bright protrusion. Recently,the magnetic properties of the NiO(001) surface were

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investigated by first-principles electronic-structure cal-culations [23.104]. It was shown that the surface oxygenhas finite spin magnetic moment, which originates fromsymmetry breaking. We must take into account the pos-sibility that a metal atom at the ferromagnetic tip apexmay interact with a Ni atom on the second layer througha magnetic interaction mediated by the electrons in anoxygen atom on the surface.

The measurements presented here demonstrate thefeasibility of imaging magnetic structures on an atomicscale by NC-AFM. In order to realize explicit de-tection of exchange force, further experiments anda theoretical study are required. In particular, the de-velopment of a tip with well-defined atomic structureand magnetic properties is essential for exchange forcemicroscopy.

23.4 Applications to Molecules

In the future, it is expected that electronic, chemical,and medical devices will be downsized to the nanome-ter scale. To achieve this, visualizing and assemblingindividual molecular components is of fundamental im-portance. Topographic imaging of nonconductive ma-terials, which is beyond the range of scanning tunnelingmicroscopes, is a challenge for atomic force microscopy(AFM). Nanometer-sized domains of surfactants ter-minated with different functional groups have beenidentified by lateral force microscopy (LFM) [23.106]and by chemical force microscopy (CFM) [23.107] asextensions of AFM. At a higher resolution, a periodicarray of molecules, Langmuir–Blodgett films [23.108]for example, was recognized by AFM. However, itremains difficult to visualize an isolated molecule, mol-ecule vacancy, or the boundary of different periodicdomains, with a microscope with the tip in contact.

23.4.1 Why Molecules and Which Molecules?

Access to individual molecules has not been a trivialtask even for noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM). The force pulling the tip into the surface is lesssensitive to the gap width (r), especially when chem-ically stable molecules cover the surface. The attractivepotential between two stable molecules is shallow andexhibits r−6 decay [23.13].

High-resolution topography of formate (HCOO−)[23.109] was first reported in 1997 as a molecu-lar adsorbate. The number of imaged molecules isnow increasing because of the technological impor-tance of molecular interfaces. To date, the followingstudies on molecular topography have been published:C60 [23.105, 110], DNAs [23.111, 112], adenine andthymine [23.113], alkanethiols [23.113,114], a perylenederivative (PTCDA) [23.115], a metal porphyrin (Cu-TBPP) [23.116], glycine sulfate [23.117], polypropy-lene [23.118], vinylidene fluoride [23.119], and a seriesof carboxylates (RCOO−) [23.120–126]. Two of these

Fig. 23.22 The constant frequency-shift topography of do-main boundaries on a C60 multilayered film deposited on aSi(111) surface based on [23.105]. Image size: 35 × 35 nm2

are presented in Figs. 23.22 and 23.23 to demonstratethe current stage of achievement. The proceedings ofthe annual NC-AFM conference represent a conve-nient opportunity for us to update the list of moleculesimaged.

23.4.2 Mechanism of Molecular Imaging

A systematic study of carboxylates (RCOO−) withR = H, CH3, C(CH3)3, C≡CH, and CF3 revealedthat the van der Waals force is responsible for themolecule-dependent microscope topography despite itslong-range (r−6) nature. Carboxylates adsorbed on the(110) surface of rutile TiO2 have been extensivelystudied as a prototype for organic materials interfacedwith an inorganic metal oxide [23.127]. A carboxylicacid molecule (RCOOH) dissociates on this surfaceto a carboxylate (RCOO−) and a proton (H+) atroom temperature, as illustrated in Fig. 23.24. The pair

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Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy and Related Topics 23.4 Applications to Molecules 655

Fig. 23.23 The constant frequency-shift topography ofa DNA helix on a mica surface based on [23.111]. Imagesize: 43 × 43 nm2. The image revealed features with a spac-ing of 3.3 nm, consistent with the helix turn of B-DNA �

of negatively charged oxygen atoms in the RCOO−coordinate two positively charged Ti atoms on the sur-face. The adsorbed carboxylates create a long-rangeordered monolayer. The lateral distances of the adsor-bates in the ordered monolayer are regulated at 0.65and 0.59 nm along the [110] and [001] directions. Byscanning a mixed monolayer containing different car-boxylates, the microscope topography of the terminalgroups can be quantitatively compared while minimiz-ing tip-dependent artifacts.

Figure 23.25 presents the observed constantfrequency-shift topography of four carboxylates termi-nated by different alkyl groups. On the formate-coveredsurface of panel (a), individual formates (R = H) wereresolved as protrusions of uniform brightness. Thedark holes represent unoccupied surface sites. Thecross section in the lower panel shows that the ac-curacy of the height measurement was 0.01 nm orbetter. Brighter particles appeared in the image whenthe formate monolayer was exposed to acetic acid(CH3COOH) as shown in panel (b). Some formates

[001]

a)

0.65 nm

H

0.15

H H0.11

0.46

Acetate

126°O O0.21

0.110.06

0.38 nm

Formate

O O

HC

C

C

H3C CH3C

H HH

0.150.15

0.58

Pivalate

0.14

C0.12

H0.11

0.64

Propiolate

O O O O

C C

CC

b) F

0.15

F F0.13

0.46O O

C

C

Trifluoroacetate

Ti Ti Ti Ti

Ti TiTi Ti Ti Ti

0.6

nm

[110]

Fig. 23.24a,b The carboxylates and TiO2 substrate. (a) Top and side view of the ball model. Small shaded and largeshaded balls represent Ti and O atoms in the substrate. Protons yielded in the dissociation reaction are not shown.(b) Atomic geometry of formate, acetate, pivalate, propiolate, and trifluoroacetate adsorbed on the TiO2(110) surface.The O−Ti distance and O−C−O angle of the formate were determined in the quantitative analysis using photoelectrondiffraction [23.128]

≈0.33 nm0.33 nm

Distance (nm)

Height (pm)

0 27

0.5

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2 nm

0.06 nm

0.20 nm

0.11 nm

0.02 nm

[001][001]a) b) c) d)

Fig. 23.25a–d The constant frequency-shift topography of carboxylate monolayers prepared on the TiO2(110) surfacebased on [23.121, 123, 125]. Image size: 10 × 10 nm2. (a) Pure formate monolayer; (b) formate–acetate mixed layer;(c) formate–pivalate mixed layer; (d) formate–propiolate mixed layer. Cross sections determined on the lines are shownin the lower panel

were exchanged with acetates (R = CH3) impingingfrom the gas phase [23.129]. Because the number ofbrighter spots increased with exposure time to aceticacid, the brighter particle was assigned to the ac-etate [23.121]. Twenty-nine acetates and 188 formateswere identified in the topography. An isolated acetateand its surrounding formates exhibited an image heightdifference of 0.06 nm. Pivalate is terminated by bulkyR = (CH3)3. Nine bright pivalates were surrounded byformates of ordinary brightness in the image of panel(c) [23.123]. The image height difference of an iso-lated pivalate over the formates was 0.11 nm. Propiolatewith C≡CH is a needle-like adsorbate of single-atomdiameter. That molecule exhibited in panel (d) a mi-croscope topography 0.20 nm higher than that of theformate [23.125].

The image topography of formate, acetate, pivalate,and propiolate followed the order of the size of thealkyl groups. Their physical topography can be assumedbased on the C−C and C−H bond lengths in the corre-sponding RCOOH molecules in the gas phase [23.130],and is illustrated in Fig. 23.24. The top hydrogen atomof the formate is located 0.38 nm above the surfaceplane containing the Ti atom pair, while three equiva-lent hydrogen atoms of the acetate are more elevatedat 0.46 nm. The uppermost H atoms in the pivalateare raised by 0.58 nm relative to the Ti plane. The

H atom terminating the triple-bonded carbon chain inthe propiolate is at 0.64 nm. Figure 23.26 summarizesthe observed image heights relative to the formate,as a function of the physical height of the topmostH atoms given in the model. The straight line fitted thefour observations [23.122]. When the horizontal axiswas scaled with other properties (molecular weight, thenumber of atoms in a molecule, or the number of elec-trons in valence states), the correlation became poor.

0.70.60.50.40.3

0.2

0.1

0

Physical topography relative to Ti-plane (nm)

Microscope topography relative to formate (nm)

Fig. 23.26 The constant frequency-shift topography of thealkyl-substituted carboxylates as a function of their phys-ical topography given in the model of Fig. 23.3 basedon [23.123]

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Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy and Related Topics 23.4 Applications to Molecules 657

On the other hand, if the tip apex traced the con-tour of a molecule composed of hard-sphere atoms,the image topography would reproduce the physicaltopography in a one-to-one ratio, as shown by the bro-ken line in Fig. 23.26. However, the slope of the fittedline was 0.7. A slope of less than unity is interpretedas the long-range nature of the tip–molecule force.The observable frequency shift reflects the sum of theforces between the tip apex and individual molecules.When the tip passes above a tall molecule embeddedin short molecules, it is pulled up to compensate forthe increased force originating from the tall molecule.Forces between the lifted tip and the short moleculesare reduced due to the increased tip–surface distance.Feedback regulation pushes down the probe to restorethe lost forces.

This picture predicts that microscope topography issensitive to the lateral distribution of the molecules, andthat was in fact the case. Two-dimensionally clusteredacetates exhibited enhanced image height over an iso-lated acetate [23.121]. The tip–molecule force thereforeremained nonzero at distances over the lateral separa-tion of the carboxylates on this surface (0.59–0.65 nm).Chemical bond interactions cannot be important acrosssuch a wide tip–molecule gap, whereas atom-scale im-ages of Si(111)(7 × 7) are interpreted with the fractionalformation of tip–surface chemical bonds [23.24,45,49].Instead, the attractive component of the van der Waalsforce is probable responsible for the observed molecule-dependent topography. The absence of the tip–surfacechemical bond is reasonable on the carboxylate-coveredsurface terminated with stable C−H bonds.

The attractive component of the van der Waalsforce contains electrostatic terms caused by permanent-dipole/permanent-dipole coupling, permanent-dipole/induced-dipole coupling, and induced-dipole/induced-dipole coupling (dispersion force). The four car-boxylates examined are equivalent in terms of theirpermanent electric dipole, because the alkyl groups arenonpolar. The image contrast of one carboxylate rela-tive to another is thus ascribed to the dispersion forceand/or the force created by the coupling between thepermanent dipole on the tip and the induced dipoleon the molecule. If we further assume that the Sitip used exhibits the smallest permanent dipole, thedispersion force remains dominant to create the NC-AFM topography dependent on the nonpolar groups ofatoms. A numerical simulation based on this assump-tion [23.125] successfully reproduced the propiolate

topography of Fig. 23.25d. A calculation that does notinclude quantum chemical treatment is expected towork, unless the tip approaches the surface too closely,or the molecule possesses a dangling bond.

In addition to the contribution of the dispersionforce, the permanent dipole moment of molecules mayperturb the microscope topography through electrostaticcoupling with the tip. Its possible role was demon-strated by imaging a fluorine-substituted acetate. Thestrongly polarized C−F bonds were expected to perturbthe electrostatic field over the molecule. The constantfrequency-shift topography of acetate (R = CH3) andtrifluoroacetate (R = CF3) was indeed sensitive to thefluorine substitution. The acetate was observed to be0.05 nm higher than the trifluoroacetate [23.122], al-though the F atoms in the trifluoroacetate as well as theH atoms in the acetate were lifted by 0.46 nm from thesurface plane, as illustrated in Fig. 23.24.

23.4.3 Perspectives

The experimental results summarized in this sectionprove the feasibility of using NC-AFM to identifyindividual molecules. A systematic study on the con-stant frequency-shift topography of carboxylates withR = CH3, C(CH3)3, C≡CH, and CF3 has revealed themechanism behind the high-resolution imaging of thechemically stable molecules. The dispersion force isprimarily responsible for the molecule-dependent to-pography. The permanent dipole moment of the imagedmolecule, if it exists, perturbs the topography throughthe electrostatic coupling with the tip. A tiny calculationcontaining empirical force fields works when simulat-ing the microscope topography.

These results make us optimistic about analyz-ing physical and chemical properties of nanoscalesupramolecular assemblies constructed on a solid sur-face. If the accuracy of topographic measurement isdeveloped by one more order of magnitude, whichis not an unrealistic target, it may be possible toidentify structural isomers, chiral isomers, and confor-mational isomers of a molecule. Kelvin probe forcemicroscopy (KPFM), an extension of NC-AFM, pro-vides a nanoscale analysis of molecular electronicproperties [23.118,119]. Force spectroscopy with chem-ically modified tips seems promising for the detectionof a selected chemical force. Operation in a liquid at-mosphere [23.131] is required for the observation ofbiochemical materials in their natural environment.

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