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InN quantum dots (QDs) were grown over 2in. Si (1 1 1) wafers with a 300nm thick AlN buffer layer by atmospheric-pressure metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. When the growth temperature increased from 450to625°C, the corresponding InN QDs height increased from 16to108nm while the density of the InN QDs decreased from 1.6×109cm−2to3.3×108cm−2. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of a 2nm thick wetting layer between the AlN buffer layer and InN QDs. The growth mechanism was determined to be the Stranski–Krastanov mode. The presence of misfit dislocations in the QDs indicated that residual strain was introduced during InN QDs formation. From x-ray diffraction analysis, when the height of the InN QDs increased from 16to62nm, the residual strain in InN QDs reduced from 0.45% to 0.22%. The residual strain remained at 0.22% for larger heights most likely due to plastic relaxation in the QDs. The critical height of the InN QDs for releasing the strain was determined to be 62nm.

Based on the charging effect common to various kinds of electron microscopy, we have developed novel methods of determining “when” and “where” a probe starts to contact an electrically isolated surface. The touchdown of an electrically grounded probe leads to an acute change in the imaging contrast of the contacted surface, which also causes a rapid jump (ranging from a few to tens of picoamperes) of the grounding current. Thus, the detection of contact can be carried out in both qualitative and quantitative manners, providing a basis for establishing relevant standard procedures. In addition, we have achieved the spatial mapping of the contact point(s) using a specially designed lithographical pattern with two mutually vertical sets of parallel conductive lines. The precision of this mapping technique is simply determined by the pitch of parallel lines, which can be as small as the capability achievable in e-beam lithography. A possible “one-probe” version of the electrical characterization is also discussed with the same underlying principle, which may turn out to be indispensable for various studies and applications of nanostructures. Further development along this track is promising to realize an instrumentally simple version of “scanning electron spectroscopy” with various modes.

We observed by using atomic force microscope (AFM) phospholipid (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) monolayers on mica being annealed and cooled to a selection of temperatures through steps of 2-4 degrees C/min. The annealed phospholipid monolayers started to disappear at 45-50 degrees C and disappeared completely above 60-63 degrees C under AFM observation. The phospholipid monolayers reformed when the samples were cooled below 60 degrees C and developed from fractal into compact monolayer films with decreasing temperatures. Simultaneously the height of the reformed phospholipid films also increased with decreasing temperatures from 0.4 nm to the value before annealing. The observed thermal features are attributed to a phase-transition process that upon heating to above 45-50 degrees C, the lipids condensed in the monolayers transform into a low-density expanded phase in which the lipids are invisible to AFM, and the transformation continues and completes at 60-63 degrees C. The lipid densities of the expanded phase inferred from the dissociated area of the condensed phase are observed to be a function of the temperature. The behavior contrasts with a conventional first-order phase transition commonly seen in the Langmuir films. The temperature-dependent height and shape of the reformed phospholipid films during cooling are argued to arise from the adjustment of the packing and molecular tilting (with respect to the mica surface) of the phospholipids in order to accommodate more condensed phospholipids.