High-Speed Atomic Force Microscope

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The research work in the first applicant's working group focuses on interfacial chemistry aspects of adhesion, corrosion and nanobiomaterials. In all these areas, the dynamics of submicroscopic structures at electrolyte/solid interfaces is of outstanding importance. Until now, relevant processes such as molecular adsorption, desorption, self-organisation or corrosion could not be analysed in real time. The proposed high-speed atomic force microscope (HS-AFM) is now intended to close precisely this methodological gap. It will enable to follow the dynamics of surfaces and interfaces in the nanometer range with a temporal resolution in the range of seconds. In particular, the device should make it possible to investigate not only model surfaces but also complex materials and coatings under relevant environmental conditions (e.g. under mechanical load and control of the electrode potential). Cooperating research groups in the department of chemistry at Paderborn University consider research topics of energy storage and conversion, as well as coating and process technology. In these areas, too, high-speed atomic force microscopy allows new insights into the correlation of structure, dynamics and functional properties of materials. The application for the HS-AFM also significantly supports the activities of the central scientific facility "Institute for Lightweight Design with Hybrid Systems". Here, the focus of the application is on the analysis of alloy and polymer surfaces as well as composite materials under corrosive conditions or mechanical load. The research in the second applicant's working group focuses on the large-scale generation of functional nanostructures using self-organization methods. The focus is on the fundamental understanding of dynamic processes that allow the targeted generation of periodic nanopatterns on large surfaces, which can be used in a wide range of applications. These include advanced micro- and optoelectronics, plasmonics, sensor technology, energy, medicine and environmental technology. Depending on the type of structure to be fabricated and the required structure size of typically 10 - 1000 nm, block copolymer lithography and/or nanosphere lithography are combined with thin film deposition methods or, more recently, 2D material transfer. The achieved structure sizes make it necessary to investigate the surface morphologies with atomic force microscopes and to analyze the internal structure by means of modern transmission electron microscopy. For the latter, the working group operates state-of-the-art analytical high-resolution TEM, which is made available to neighboring groups in the faculty and at other universities in collaborations.