• Applied Microscopy
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• v.51
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• pp.7.1-7.9
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• 2021

Neuromorphic systems require integrated structures with high-density memory and selector devices to avoid interference and recognition errors between neighboring memory cells. To improve the performance of a selector device, it is important to understand the characteristics of the switching process. As changes by switching cycle occur at local nanoscale areas, a high-resolution analysis method is needed to investigate this phenomenon. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to analyze the local changes because it offers nanoscale detection with high-resolution capabilities. This review introduces various types of AFM such as conductive AFM (C-AFM), electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to study switching behaviors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.290.1-290.1
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• 2013

The electrical characterization of Au islands on TiO2 at nanometer scale (as a Schottky nanodiode) has been studied with conductive atomic force microscopy in ultra-high vacuum. The diverse sizes of the Au islands were formed by using self-assembled patterns on n-type TiO2 semiconductor film using the Langmuir-Blodgett process. Local conductance images showing the current flowing through the TiN coated AFM probe to the surface of the Au islands on TiO2 was simultaneously obtained with topography, while a positive sample bias is applied. The boundary of the Au islands revealed a higher current flow than that of the inner Au islands in current AFM images, with the forward bias presumably due to the surface plasmon resonance. The nanoscale Schottky barrier height of the Au/TiO2 Schottky nanodiode was obtained by fitting the I-V curve to the thermionic emission equation. The local resistance of the Au/TiO2 nanodiode appeared to be higher at the larger Au islands than at the smaller islands. The results suggest that conductive atomic force microscopy can be used to reveal the I-V characterization of metal size dependence and the electrical effects of surface plasmon on a metal-semiconductor Schottky diode at nanometer scale.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.597-597
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• 2013

The resistive switching behaviors of Pt nanodisk on Nb-doped SrTiO3 single-crystal have been studied with conductive atomic force microscopy in ultra-high vacuum. The nanometer sizes of Pt disks were formed by using self-assembled patterns of silica nanospheres on Nb-doped SrTiO3 single-crystal semiconductor film using the Langmuir-Blodgett, followed by the metal deposition with e-beam evaporation. The conductance images shows the spatial mapping of the current flowing from the TiN coated AFM probe to Pt nanodisk surface on Nb：STO single-crystal substrate, that was simultaneously obtained with topography. The bipolar resistive switching behaviors of Pt nanodisk on Nb：STO single-crystal junctions was observed. By measuring the current-voltage spectroscopy after the forming process, we found that switching behavior depends on the charging and discharging of interface trap state that exhibit the high resistive state (HRS) and low resistive state (LRS), respectively. The results suggest that the bipolar resistive switching of Pt/Nb:STO single-crystal junctions can be performed without the electrochemical redox reaction between tip and sample with the potential application of nanometer scale resistive switching devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.129.1-129.1
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• 2013

Atomically-thin graphene is the ideal model system for studying nanoscale friction due to its intrinsic two-dimensional anisotropy. Here, we report the reduced nanoscale friction of epitaxial graphene on SiC, investigated with conductive-probe atomic force microscopy/friction force microscopy in ultra-high vacuum. The measured friction on a buffer layer was found to be 1/8 of that on a monolayer of epitaxial graphene. Conductive probe atomic force microscopy revealed a lower conductance on the buffer layer, compared to monolayer graphene. We associate this difference in friction with the difference in total lateral stiffness. Because bending stiffness is associated with flexural phonons in two-dimensional systems, nanoscale frictional energy should primarily dissipate through damping with the softest phonons. We investigated the influence of hydrogen intercalation on the nanoscale friction. We found that the friction decreased significantly after hydrogen intercalation, which is related to loose contact between the graphene and the substrate that results in a lower bending stiffness.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.85-85
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• 2010

Graphene, the building block of graphite, is one of the most promising materials due to their fascinating electronic transport properties. The pseudo-two-dimensional sp2 bonding in graphene layers yields one of the most effective solid lubricants. In this poster, we present the correlation between electrical and nanomechanical properties of graphene layer grown on Cu/Ni substrate with CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method. The electrical (current and conductance) and nanomechanical (adhesion and friction) properties have been investigated by the combined apparatus of friction force microscopy/conductive probe atomic force microscopy (AFM). The experiment was carried out in a RHK AFM operating in ultrahigh vacuum using cantilevers with a conductive TiN coating. The current was measured as a function of the applied load between the AFM tip and the graphene layer. The contact area has been obtained with the continuum mechanical models. We will discuss the influence of mechanical deformation on the electrical transport mechanism on graphene layers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 1996.05a
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• pp.269-272
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• 1996

The electrochemical behavior of Ru complex and PD complex monolayer, deposited on conductive substrate by the Langmuir-Blodgett(LB) technique as monolayer and multilayer, has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. Monolayer films show stable reversible state. Atomic resolution imaging of LB highly-conductive, environmently stable organic films has been obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) showing their closely packed structure,

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.271-274
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• 2010

We examined the tunneling current behaviors of magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) cells utilizing conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) interfaced with an external magnetic field generator. By introducing current through coils, a magnetic field was generated and then controlled by a current feedback circuit. This enabled the characterization of the tunneling current under various magnetic fields. The current-voltage (I-V) property was measured using a contact mode AFM with a metal coated conducting cantilever at a specific magnetic field intensity. The obtained magnetoresistance (MR) ratios of the MTJ cells were about 21% with no variation seen from the different sized MTJ cells; the value of resistance $\times$ area (RA) were 8.5 K-12.5 K $({\Omega}{\mu}m^2)$. Since scanning probe microscopy (SPM) performs an I-V behavior analysis of ultra small size without an extra electrode, we believe that this novel characterization method utilizing an SPM will give a great benefit in characterizing MTJ cells. This novel method gives us the possibility to measure the electrical properties of ultra small MTJ cells, namely below $0.1\;{\mu}m\;{\times}\;0.1\;{\mu}m$.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.261-267
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• 2024

An unconventional fabrication technique of nanoelectrode was developed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and hydrogel. Until now, the precise control of electroactive area down to a few nm² has always been an obstacle, which limits the wide application of nanoelectrodes. Here, the nanometer-sized contact between the boron-doped diamond (BDD) as conductive AFM tip and the agarose hydrogel as solid electrolyte was well governed by the feedback amplitude of oscillation in the non-contact mode of AFM. Consequently, this low-cost and feasible approach gives rise to new possibilities for the fabrication of nanoelectrodes. The electroactive area controlled by the set point of AFM was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the ferrocenmethanol (FcMeOH) combined with quasi-solid agarose hydrogel as an electrolyte. Single copper (Cu) nanoparticle was deposited at the apex of the AFM tip using this platform whose electrocatalytic activity for nitrate reduction was then investigated by CV and Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.232.2-232.2
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• 2015

Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) is a powerful method to characterize inversed piezoelectric effects directly using conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips. Piezoelectric domains respond to an applied AC voltage with a characteristic strain via a contact between the tip and the surface of piezoelectric material. Electroactive piezoelectric polymers are widely investigated due to their advantages such as flexibility, light weight, and microactuation enabling various device features. Although piezoelectric polymers are promising materials for wide applications, they have the primary issue that the piezoelectric coefficient is much lower than that of piezoelectric ceramics. Researchers are studying widely to enhance the piezoelectric coefficient of the materials including nanoscale fabrication and copolymerization with some materials. In this report, nanoscale electroactive polymers are prepared by the electrospinning method that provides advantages of direct poling, scalability, and easy control. The main parameters of the electrospinning process such as distance, bias voltage, viscosity of the solution, and elasticity affects the piezoelectric coefficient and the nanoscale structures which are related to the phase of piezoelectric polymers. The characterization of such electroactive polymers are conducted using piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM). Their morphologies are characterized by field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and the crystallinity of the polymer is determined by X-ray diffractometer.

• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.03a
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• pp.149-152
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• 2012

$Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) is one of the most promising photovoltaic materials because of large conversion efficiency which has been achieved with an optimum Ga/(In+Ga) composition in $CuIn_{1-x}Ga_xSe_2$ (X~0.3). The Ga/(In+Ga) content is important to determine band gap, solar cell performances and carrier behaviors at grain boundary (GB). Effects of Ga/(In+Ga) content on physical properties of the CIGS layers have been extensively studied. In previous research, it is reported that GB is not recombination center of CIGS thin-film solar cells. However, GB recombination and electron-hole pair behavior studies are still lacking, especially influence of with different X on CIGS thin-films. We obtained the GB surface potential, local current and I-V characteristic of different X (00.7 while X~0.3 showed higher potential than 100 mV on GBs. Higher potential on GBs appears positive band bending. It can decrease recombination loss because of carrier separation. Therefore, we suggest recombination and electron-hole behaviors at GBs depending on composition of X.