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We report here the direct observation of charge accumulation in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well (MQW) solar cells by employing cross-sectional Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). This sample is characterized by thin barrier layers that enable miniband formation. The contact potential difference, or potential between the tip and the semiconductor sample, was measured along the p–i–n junction. We observed, under illuminated conditions, a change in the potential gradient, or bending, at a position of the MQW layer, but not in the reference sample without quantum well. This clearly shows that charge is accumulated in the MQW region. We also found that electron accumulation in the MQW layer and the density measured on the surface is about 1 × 1011 cm−2. Our experimental results show that KPFM is a powerful way of understanding the device physics of nanostructure-based solar cells.

We investigated the electrochemical potential arrangement of Au nanoclusters, 1–3 nm in diameter, weakly coupled with bulk Au surface through tunneling junctions. The measurement of the Coulomb staircase by scanning tunneling spectroscopy and the statistical analysis for clusters reveal that [μ(0)+μ(1)]/2, where μ(n) is the electrochemical potential of the cluster when the number of excess electrons changes between n−1 and n, distributes around the Fermi level of the bulk Au electrode with the standard deviation σ of 30–70 meV. The spacing ΔE of the equally spaced electrochemical potentials decreases with increasing cluster size, which leads to the breakdown of the charge neutrality of the clusters below ΔE∼0.3 eV due to the competition between σ and ΔE.

We studied active voltage contrast (AVC) imaging using helium ion microscopy (HIM). We observed secondary electron (SE) images of the cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with and without a voltage applied to the internal electrodes. When no voltage was applied, we obtained an image reflecting the material contrast between the Ni internal electrode region and the BaTiO3 dielectric region of the cross-sectional surface of the MLCC. When a voltage was applied, the electrical potential difference between the grounded and the positively biased internal electrodes affected the contrast (voltage contrast). Moreover, attenuation of the SE intensity from the grounded to the positively biased internal electrodes was observed in the dielectric region. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements of the contact potential difference (CPD) were performed on the same sample. By using the AVC image from the HIM observation and the CPD image from the KPFM measurement, we could quantitativ...

Strong interaction of gold with the terminal sulfur atoms of dithiol molecules on Au(111) effectively suppresses the penetration of deposited Au atoms through the dithiol layer and results in the formation of homogeneous Au nanoclusters. These nanoclusters, 10–15 A (σ

We investigated the upper critical fields of Ca10(Pt4As8)(Fe2–xPtxAs2)5 superconducting whiskers. The whiskers consist of several wire-like grains with diameter of around 200 nm, joined by grain boundaries whose misorientation angles are less than 5∘. The upper critical fields along c-axis and in ab-plane were observed as 49 T at 12 K and 50 T at 22 K, respectively, which can be extrapolated to ∼81 and ∼133 T at 0 K. The whisker demonstrated weak anisotropic factor and almost constant value of ∼2 below 15 K. The impressive transport properties of the whisker may find applications in fields like superconducting micro- and meso-structure systems.

When facing the challenges of critical dimension measurement of complicated nanostructures, such as of the three dimension integrated circuit, characterization of the focal depth of microscopes is important. In this Letter, we developed a method for characterizing the focal depth of a scanning helium ion microscope (HIM) by using an atomic force microscope tip characterizer (ATC). The ATC was tilted in a sample chamber at an angle to the scanning plan. Secondary electron images (SEIs) were obtained at different positions of the ATC. The edge resolution of the SEIs shows the nominal diameters of the helium ion beam at different focal levels. With this method, the nominal shapes of the helium ion beams were obtained with different apertures. Our results show that a small aperture is necessary to get a high spatial resolution and high depth of field images with HIM. This work provides a method for characterizing and improving the performance of HIM.

Characterization of the structural and physical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as layer number and inelastic mean free path measurements, is very important to optimize their synthesis and application. In this study, we characterize the layer number and morphology of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets on a metallic substrate using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and scanning helium ion microscopy (HIM). Using scanning beams of various energies, we could analyze the dependence of the intensities of secondary electrons on the thickness of the h-BN nanosheets. Based on the interaction between the scanning particles (electrons and helium ions) and h-BN nanosheets, we deduced an exponential relationship between the intensities of secondary electrons and number of layers of h-BN. With the attenuation factor of the exponential formula, we calculate the inelastic mean free path of electrons and helium ions in the h-BN nanosheets. Our results show that HIM is more sensitive and consistent than FE-SEM for characterizing the number of layers and morphology of 2D materials.

We demonstrate that a single brain-neuron-extracted microtubule is a memory-switching element, whose hysteresis loss is nearly zero. Our study shows how a memory-state forms in the nanowire and how its protein arrangement symmetry is related to the conducting-state written in the device, thus, enabling it to store and process ∼500 distinct bits, with 2 pA resolution between 1 nA and 1 pA. Its random access memory is an analogue of flash memory switch used in a computer chip. Using scanning tunneling microscope imaging, we demonstrate how single proteins behave inside the nanowire when this 3.5 billion years old nanowire processes memory-bits.

We report an unique planar defect that draws the Nazca Lines in epitaxially grown La2/3−xLi3xTiO3 (LLTO) (x ≈ 0.11) ion-conductive perovskite. Transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy reveal that the lines are produced by changing the regular arrangement of alternate stacks of La-rich and La-poor layers along the c-axis into all La-rich layers near the defect. The first-principle calculation suggests that the La-rich layers should act as a barrier to Li conductivity and are, therefore, important for the application of epitaxially grown LLTO thin films.

While exploring the random diffusion of 2 bit molecular switches (we define as molecular neuron) on an atomic flat Au (111) substrate, we have found that at least four molecules are required to construct a functional neural net. Surface electron density wave enables communication of one to many molecules at a time—a prerequisite for the parallel processing. Here we have shown that in a neural net of several molecules, some of them could dynamically store information as memory and consistently replicate the fundamental relationship that is found only in a collective and emergent computing system like our brain.

We fabricated quasi-one-dimensional (1D) quantum wells on the Si(100) surface by using a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) tip. Electron waves were confined to a single silicon dimer row by two tungsten nanodots that were separated by several nanometers. The tungsten dots were deposited by point contact between the STM tip and the sample. The size of the dots we created on the Si(100) surface was as small as the width of a single dimer. Differential conductance mapping and scanning tunneling spectroscopy detected different quantum states confined to the quasi-1D quantum well as changing bias voltage.