Lubricant Film Thickness Mapping Using a Scanning Capacitance Technique with a Nanoscale Lateral Resolution

SGER奖将支持开发一种用于工程表面润滑油膜厚度测绘的新型扫描电容测量技术。 预计这种技术将允许润滑剂厚度变化的非破坏性映射小至0.1 nm，并具有纳米级的横向分辨率。 现有的技术允许测量仅具有微尺度横向分辨率。 所提出的技术在使用单分子厚度的润滑剂膜的应用中是非常感兴趣的。 如果成功的话，我们可以预期，所提出的技术可以被开发用于每年1000亿美元的磁存储产业、新兴的微器件产业和其他使用超薄膜的应用的质量控制目的。 现有的原子力显微镜将与扫描电容显微镜模块相适应，该模块将被修改为与尖锐的导电探针一起操作。 如所设想的，测量将包括金属表面的初始常规AFM形貌扫描，随后是在相同轨道中但在电容模式中的扫描，并且尖端在金属表面上方100 nm的高度处，如由来自形貌扫描的输入控制的。

An SGER award will support development of a novel scanning capacitance measurement technique for lubricant film thickness mapping on engineering surfaces. It is expected that this technique will allow non-destructive mapping of variations in lubricant thickness as small as 0.1 nm and with a nanoscale lateral resolution. Existing techniques allow measurements only with a microscale lateral resolution. The proposed technique is of great interest in applications where lubricant films of mono-molecular thickness are used. It is expected that the proposed technique, if successful, can be developed for quality control purposes for the $ 100 billion per year magnetic storage industry, the emerging microdevices industry, and other applications using ultra-thin films. An existing AFM will be adapted with a scanning capacitance microscopy module, which will be modified to operate with a sharp, conducting probe. The measurements, as envisioned, will consist of an initial conventional AFM topography scan of the metal surface, followed by a scan in the same track but in the capacitance mode and with the tip at 100 nm height above the metal surface, as controlled by input from the topography scan.