Related papers: Metal whisker growth induced by localized, high-in…
The existence of metal whiskers is attributed to the energy gain due to electrostatic polarization of needle shaped metal filaments in the electric field induced by surface imperfections: contaminations, oxide states, etc. A proposed theory…
Needle shaped whiskers grow on various metal surfaces often across leads of a package causing current leakage or short circuits and raising reliability issues in electronic components. The nature of metal whiskers remains a mystery after…
We present TEM images of the interior of metal whiskers (MW) grown on electroplated Sn films. Along with earlier published information, our observations focus on a number of questions, such as why MWs' diameters are in the micron range…
We demonstrate a simple method to significantly improve the sharpness of standard silicon probes for an atomic force microscope, or to repair a damaged probe. The method is based on creating and maintaining a strong, spatially localized…
We have investigated the influence of electric field on tin whisker growth. Sputtered tin samples were exposed to electron radiation, and were subsequently found to have grown whiskers, while sister control samples did not exhibit whisker…
In this work we show using atomistic simulations that the biased diffusion in high electric field gradients creates a mechanism whereby nanotips may start growing from small surface asperities. It has long been known that atoms on a…
Single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) nanofibrils were assembled onto a variety of conductive scanning probes including atomic force microscope (AFM) tips and scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) needles using positive dielectrophoresis (DEP).…
We demonstrate the fabrication of sharp nanopillars of high aspect ratio onto specialized atomic force microscopy (AFM) microcantilevers and their use for high-speed AFM of DNA and nucleoproteins in liquid. The fabrication technique uses…
Metal whiskers often grow across leads of electric equipment and electronic package causing current leakage or short circuits and raising significant reliability issues. The nature of metal whiskers remains a mystery after several decades…
We show that strong enough electric fields can trigger nucleation of needle-shaped metallic embryos in insulators, even when the metal phase is energetically unfavorable without the field. This general phenomenon is due to the gigantic…
In this report, we discuss whether the optimal electric field to promote the growth of armchair- type nanotubes (metallic character) evaluated using the previous Huckel-Poisson method can be applied at the tip of a nanotube in a realistic…
We demonstrate experimentally and numerically that in fiber tips as they are used in NSOMs azimuthally polarized electrical fields (|E$_{\text{azi}}$|$^2$/|E$_{\text{tot}}$|$^2$ $\approx$ 55% $\pm $ 5% for 1.4\mu m tip aperture diameter and…
We study the non-contact friction between an atomic force microscope tip and a metal substrate in the presence of bias voltage. The friction is due to energy losses in the sample created by the electromagnetic field from the oscillating…
Formation of wrinkles is a common phenomenon in the large area growth of two dimensional layered materials on metallic substrates. Wrinkles can significantly affect the working of 2D materials based large scale electronic devices and…
Irradiation of a sharp tungsten tip by a femtosecond laser and exposed to a strong DC electric field led to gradual and reproducible surface modifications. By a combination of field emission microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, we…
Charge manipulation and fabrication of stable domain patterns in ferroelectric materials by scanning probe microscopy open up broad avenues for the development of tunable electronics. Harnessing the polarization energy and electrostatic…
While the fundamental limit on the resolution achieved in an atomic force microscope (AFM) is clearly related to the tip radius, the fact that the tip can creep and/or wear during an experiment is often ignored. This is mainly due to the…
We present the design and experimental results of a near-field scanning microwave microscope (NSMM) working at a frequency of 1GHz. Our microscope is unique in that the sensing probe is separated from the excitation electrode to…
We demonstrate coaxial atomic force microscope (AFM) tweezers that can trap and place small objects using dielectrophoresis (DEP). An attractive force is generated at the tip of a coaxial AFM probe by applying a radio frequency voltage…
We study local oxidation induced by dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM), commonly called TappingMode AFM. This minimizes the field induced forces, which cause the tip to blunt, and enables us to use very fine tips. We are able to…