Chemical and crystallographic characterization of the tip apex in scanning probe microscopy.

The apex atom of a W scanning probe tip reveals a nonspherical charge distribution as probed by a CO molecule bonded to a Cu(111) surface [Welker et al., Science 336, 444 (2012). Three high-symmetry images were observed and related to three low-index crystallographic directions of the W bcc crystal. Open questions remained, such as the detectability of a contamination of W tips by sample material (here Cu), and the applicability of the method to distinguish other atomic species. In this work, we investigate bulk Cu and Fe tips. In both cases, we can associate our data with the fcc (Cu) and bcc (Fe) crystal structures using a simple electrostatic model that is based on the partial filling of d orbitals.

Spin resolution and evidence for superexchange on NiO(001) observed by force microscopy.

The spin order of the nickel oxide (001) surface is resolved, employing noncontact atomic force microscopy at 4.4 K using bulk Fe and SmCo tips mounted on a qPlus sensor that oscillates at sub-50 pm amplitudes. The spin-dependent signal is hardly detectable with Fe tips. In contrast, SmCo tips yield a height contrast of 1.35 pm for Ni ions with opposite spins. SmCo tips even show a small height contrast on the O atoms of 0.5 pm within the 2×1 spin unit cell, pointing to the observation of superexchange. We attribute the increased signal-to-noise ratio to the increased magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of SmCo, which stabilizes the magnetic moment at the apex. Atomic force spectroscopy on the Ni↑, Ni↓, and O lattice site reveals a magnitude of the exchange energy of merely 1 meV at the closest accessible distance with an exponential decay length of λexc=18 pm.

Surface structure. Subatomic resolution force microscopy reveals internal structure and adsorption sites of small iron clusters.

Clusters built from individual iron atoms adsorbed on surfaces (adatoms) were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) with subatomic resolution. Single copper and iron adatoms appeared as toroidal structures and multiatom clusters as connected structures, showing each individual atom as a torus. For single adatoms, the toroidal shape of the AFM image depends on the bonding symmetry of the adatom to the underlying structure [twofold for copper on copper(110) and threefold for iron on copper(111)]. Density functional theory calculations support the experimental data. The findings correct our previous work, in which multiple minima in the AFM signal were interpreted as a reflection of the orientation of a single front atom, and suggest that dual and triple minima in the force signal are caused by dimer and trimer tips, respectively.

Impact of thermal frequency drift on highest precision force microscopy using quartz-based force sensors at low temperatures.

In frequency modulation atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM) the stability of the eigenfrequency of the force sensor is of key importance for highest precision force measurements. Here, we study the influence of temperature changes on the resonance frequency of force sensors made of quartz, in a temperature range from 4.8-48 K. The sensors are based on the qPlus and length extensional principle. The frequency variation with temperature T for all sensors is negative up to 30 K and on the order of 1 ppm/K, up to 13 K, where a distinct kink appears, it is linear. Furthermore, we characterize a new type of miniaturized qPlus sensor and confirm the theoretically predicted reduction in detector noise.