Es wird ein Verfahren zur lokalisierten elektrochemischen Abscheidung metallischer Strukturen aus Kapillarsonden vorgestellt. Der experimentelle Aufbau, die Herstellung der Sonden, das Arbeiten im Nahfeld der Probe (Scherkraft-Abstandsdetektion)sowie die verschiedenen Beschaltungmöglichkeiten der elektrochemischen Zelle werden ausführlich beschrieben. Ergänzend zu den experimentellen Arbeiten werden einerseits numerische Simulationen gezeigt, die zur Veranschaulichung der Potentialverteilung in der Apexregion dienen und qualitativ beschreiben, wie sich das Schichtdickenprofil der abgeschiedenen Strukturen mit den einstellbaren Parametern (Elektrodenpotentiale, Spitze-Probe-Abstand) variieren läßt. Andererseits werden die verschiedenen Beschaltungsmöglichkeiten der Zelle anhand von Schaltungssimulationen verglichen und so die Wahl des günstigsten Arbeitspunktes für die in den Experimenten verwendete (bi)-potentiostatische Abscheidung diskutiert. Mit dieser Anordnung wurden lokalisiert Cluster in einer porösen Aluminiumoxidmembran deponiert und anschließend abgebildet. In weiteren Strukturierungsversuchen wurden Kupfer bzw. Gold lokalisiert elektrochemisch auf ITO abgeschieden, wobei das Schichtwachstum simultan optisch in Transmission beobachtet wurde. Es werden u.a. Strukturen erzeugt, deren laterale Abmessungen kleiner als der Kapillardurchmesser sind (Fokussierung, max. Verhältnis 8:1). Die derzeit kleinsten elektrochemisch erzeugbaren Strukturen haben eine laterale Ausdehnung von ca. 5 Mikrometern. / A method for the localized electrochemical deposition of metal structures using capillary tips is presented. The experimental set-up, the tip preparation, the distance detection in near-field operation (shear-force detection), as well as the different types of circuiting of the electrochemical cell are described in detail. In addition to the experimental work, numerical simulations for the qualitative visualization of the potential distribution around the apex region show, how the films thickness profile can be adjusted with the variable parameters (electrode voltages, tip-sample distance). Circuit simulations of the electrochemical cell allow to pre-estimate the optimum working conditions for the used (bi)-potentiostatic electrode set-up. With this method, clusters have been deposited in a thin film of porous alumin oxide and imaged in shear-force mode. Gold and copper structures have been deposited on ITO, while the film growth was observed optically. The lateral dimension of the deposited structures can be smaller than the inner diameter of the capillaries (maximum focus: 8:1). The smallest structures produced in this work have lateral dimensions of 5 micrometers.

Im Fokus dieser Dissertation stehen anorganisch-organische Hybridaggregate aus Kadmiumselenid-Nanokristallen und funktionalisierten Porphyrinmolekülen in Lösung. Mit Hilfe von statischen und zeitaufgelösten Methoden der optischen Spektroskopie wird nachgewiesen, daß die Bildung der Aggregate durch spontane Adsorption der funktionalisierten Moleküle an der Nanokristalloberfläche erfolgt. Dabei ist von einem dynamischen Gleichgewicht zwischen den Porphyrinmolekülen und den ursprünglichen Nanokristall-Liganden (TOPO) auszugehen. In der Photophysik der Hybridaggregate lassen sich ein resonanter Energietransfer nach Förster, der vom Nanokristall zum Porphyrinmolekül gerichtet ist, sowie eine Elektronen-Austauschwechselwirkung zwischen beiden Komponenten nach Dexter nachweisen. Mit Hilfe einer Erweiterung des Stern-Volmer-Ansatzes zur Beschreibung der Fluoreszenzlöschung für bimolekulare Reaktionen können die jeweiligen Anteile für eine Serie von Nanokristallen unterschiedlicher Größe und zweierlei Beschaffenheit grob quantifiziert werden. Ferner wird der Einfluß diffundierender Ladungen auf die Quantenausbeute von Halbleiternanokristallen anhand von zeitkorrelierter Einzelphotonenerfassung untersucht. Mit Hilfe einer Detektionsmethode, die die Zeitreihe der Ankunftszeiten einzelner Photonen erhält (tt-TCSPC), ist es möglich, den in eine Polymermatrix eingebetteten Halbleiternanokristallen charakteristische Fluktuationen der Fluoreszenzlebensdauer mit individueller Zeitkonstante zuzuordnen. / This Thesis is devoted to the formation and the photophysics of inorganic/organic hybride nanoaggregates designed from CdSe semiconductor nanocrystals and pyridyl-functionalized porphyrin molecules in solution at ambient conditions. The formation of the aggregates is revealed to be based on a spontaneous adsorption of the functionalized porphyrin molecules on the nanocrystal surfaces, with a dynamic equilibrium sustained due to the competition with TOPO, ie. the original surface ligand. The evidence for the existence of the self-assembled aggregates is furnished by the proof of a directed Förster resonant energy transfer from the nanocrystal to the porphyrin molecules at low compound concentrations. By means of steady-state and time-resolved optical spectroscopy, the resonant energy transfer (RET) is valued to be accompanied by at least one more secondary quenching mechanism. Motivated by the aptitude of the nanocrystals to host more than one molecule at once, the detection and quantification of this process is done by an extension of the conventional Stern-Volmer kinetics valid for bimolecular reactions. With that, the secondary interaction process aside from RET is explained in terms of a Dexter-type energy transfer that, on ist part, can be put down to a generation of charge-induced shallow trap states within the semiconductor nanocrystal. This model is in qualitative accordance with the known phenomena of fluorescence intermittency and spectral diffusion. The role of a fluctuating environment to affect the fluorescence quantum yield of the nanocrystals is confirmed by time-tagged time-correlated single-photon counting (tt-TCSPC) on single nanocrystals in a polymer matrix. The measurements show that the fluorescence lifetime of the nanocrystals is characterized by individual characteristic fluctuations possibly induced by temporal and spatial inhomogeneities in the distribution of the dielectric constants.

We developed a three-step colloidal synthesis of near-infrared active Cu-In-Se (CISe)/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals (NCs) via a sequential partial cation exchange. In the first step binary highly copper deficient Cu2‒xSe NCs were synthesized, followed by a partial cation exchange of copper to indium ions yielding CISe NCs. In order to enhance the stability and the photoluminescence (PL) properties of the NCs, a subsequent ZnS shell was grown, resulting in CISe/ZnS core/shell NCs. These core/shell hetero-NCs exhibited a dramatic increase in size and a restructuring to trigonal pyramidal particles. The reaction parameters, e.g. the Cu:Se-ratio, the temperature and the time were carefully tuned enabling a distinct control over the size and the composition of the NCs. By varying only the size of the CISe/ZnS NCs (from 9 to 18 nm) the PL spectra could be tuned covering a wide range with maxima from 990 nm to 1210 nm. Thus, in these experiments we demonstrate a clear dependence of the optical properties of these materials on their size and extend the PL range of CISe-based nanoparticles further to the infrared part of the spectrum. Furthermore, the relatively large size of these NCs allows their detailed structural analysis via electron microscopy techniques, which is particularly challenging in the case of small particles and especially important to relate the size, composition and crystal structure to their optoelectronic properties.

The electrical properties, in particular the U–I characteristics, current and voltage signal shapes within the pulse, are important parameters for the understanding of the processes taking place in the pulsed glow discharge (PGD). The electrical properties are also closely related to the analytical performance of the PGD such as sputtering rates, crater shapes and emission yields. Moreover, the dependence of the U–I plots on the density of the discharge gas can be used to estimate the gas temperature. This result is relevant for the analysis of thermally fragile samples. Nevertheless, there is a lack of PGD studies where the current and voltage signals are considered in detail. Therefore, this article is dedicated to the electrical properties of PGD. The influence of the PGD parameters (duty cycle and pulse duration) on the electrical properties is examined. The results highlight the optimum parameters for particular analytical applications. The question, whether direct current (dc) and radio frequency (rf) discharges behave similarly is also discussed and all experiments are performed for both modes. The comparative studies reveal strong similarities between dc and rf pulsed discharges. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have made a great impact on materials science and are being explored for potential applications in several disciplines. In this article, we briefly highlight the current state-of-the-art techniques employing ILs as new crystallisation media, working as neutral solvent, template or charge compensating species. The use of an IL as environmental friendly solvent offers many advantages over traditional crystallisation methods. The change from molecular to ionic reaction media leads to new types of materials being accessible. Room temperature ILs have been found to be excellent solvent systems for the crystallisation of a wide range of substances and morphologies ranging from nanoscopic crystals to micro- and even to macroscopic crystals. Moreover, high temperature routes, such as crystallisation from melts or gas phase deposition, have been replaced by convenient room or low temperature syntheses, employing ILs as reaction media. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Tropical forests store more than half of the world’s forest carbon and are particularly threatened by deforestation and degradation processes, which together represent the second largest source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Consequently, tropical forests are the focus of international climate policies (i.e. Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, REDD) aiming at reducing forest-related CO2 emissions. The REDD initiative lies on our ability to map forest carbon stocks (i.e. spatial dynamics) and to detect deforestation and degradations (i.e. temporal dynamics) at large spatial scales (e.g. national, forested basin), with accuracy and precision. Remote-sensing is as a key tool for this purpose, but numerous sources of error along the carbon mapping chain makes meeting REDD criteria an outstanding challenge. In the present thesis, we assessed carbon (quantified through aboveground biomass, AGB) estimation error at the tree- and plot-level using a widely used pantropical AGB model, and at the landscape-level using a remote sensing method based on canopy texture features from very high resolution (VHR) optical data. Our objective was to better understand and reduce AGB estimation error at each level using information on large canopy tree structure, distribution and spatial organization. Although large trees disproportionally contributed to forest carbon stock, they are under-represented in destructive datasets and subject to an under-estimation bias with the pantropical AGB model. We destructively sampled 77 very large tropical trees and assembled a large (pantropical) dataset to study how variation in tree form (through crown sizes and crown mass ratio) contributed to this error pattern. We showed that the source of bias in the pantropical model was a systematic increase in the proportion of tree mass allocated to the crown in canopy trees. An alternative AGB model accounting for this phenomenon was proposed. We also propagated the AGB model bias at the plot-level and showed that the interaction between forest structure and model bias, although often overlooked, might in fact be substantial. We further analyzed the structural properties of crown branching networks in light of the assumptions and predictions of the Metabolic Theory of Ecology, which supports the power-form of the pantropical AGB model. Important deviations were observed, notably from Leonardo’s rule (i.e. the principle of area conservation), which, all else being equal, could support the higher proportion of mass in large tree crowns. A second part of the thesis dealt with the extrapolation of field-plot AGB via canopy texture features of VHR optical data. A major barrier for the development of a broad-scale forest carbon monitoring method based on canopy texture is that relationships between canopy texture and stand structure parameters (including AGB) vary among forest types and regions of the world. We investigated this discrepancy using a simulation approach: virtual canopy scenes were generated for 279 1-ha plots distributed on contrasted forest types across the tropics. We showed that complementing FOTO texture with additional descriptors of forest structure, notably on canopy openness (from a lacunarity analysis) and tree slenderness (from a bioclimatic proxy) allows developing a stable inversion frame for forest AGB at large scale. Although the approach we proposed requires further empirical validation, a first case study on a forests mosaic in the Congo basin gave promising results. Overall, this work increased our understanding of mechanisms behind AGB estimation errors at the tree-, plot- and landscape-level. It stresses the need to better account for variation patterns in tree structure (e.g. ontogenetic pattern of carbon allocation) and forest structural organization (across forest types, under different environmental conditions) to improve general AGB models, and in fine our ability to accurately map forest AGB at large scale.

Trotz der im Vergleich zu Silizium überragenden elektronischen Eigenschaften von Verbindungshalbleitern, ist die Leistung der daraus gefertigten elektrischen Bauelemente aufgrund der vorhandenen, die elektronischen Materialeigenschaften beeinflussenden Defekte nach wie vor begrenzt. Die vorliegende Arbeit trägt dazu bei, das bestehende ökonomische Interesse an einem besseren Verständnis der die Bauelementeleistung limitierenden Defekte zu befriedigen, indem sie die Auswirkungen dieser Defekte auf die elektronischen und optischen Materialeigenschaften von Indiumphosphid (InP) und Siliziumkarbid (SiC) aufzeigt. Zur Klärung der Effekte finden in der Arbeit sich ergänzende elektrische und optische Charakterisierungsmethoden Anwendung, von denen die meisten kontaktlos und zerstörungsfrei arbeiten und sich daher prinzipiell auch für Routineanalysen eignen. Die erzielten Ergebnisse bestätigen und ergänzen Literaturdaten zum Defektinventar in InP und SiC nutzbringend. So wird insbesondere das Potential der elektrischen Charakterisierung mittels MDP und MD-PICTS, welche in der Arbeit erstmals für die Defektcharakterisierung von InP und SiC eingesetzt wurden, nachgewiesen. Die experimentellen Studien werden dabei bedarfsorientiert durch eine theoretische Betrachtung des entsprechenden Signalentstehungsmechanismuses ergänzt.:1 Motivation 2 Theses 3 Compound semiconductors: structure and benefits 4 Growth of compound semiconductors 5 Structural defects in compound semiconductors 6 Defects and their impact on electronic material properties 7 Effect of annealing treatments on the properties of InP 8 Experimental details 9 Experimental results 10 Summary of the thesis 11 Conclusion and impact 12 Prospect of future work 13 Appendix - Theory of signal development 14 List of tables 15 List of figures 16 List of abbreviations and symbols 17 Eidesstattliche Erklärung - Declaration of academic honesty 18 Danksagung - Acknowledgment 19 Veröffetnlichungen - Publications 20 References / Although the electronic properties of compound semiconductors exceed those of Silicon, the performance of respective electronic devices still is limited. This is due to the presence of various growth-induced defects in compound semiconductors. In order to satisfy the economic demand of an improved insight into limiting defects this thesis contributes to a better understanding of material inherent defects in commonly used Indium Phosphide (InP) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) by revealing their effects on electronic and optical material properties. On that account various complementary electrical and optical characterization techniques have been applied to both materials. Most of these techniques are non-contacting and non-destructive. So, in principle they are qualified for routine application. Characterization results that are obtained with these techniques are shown to either confirm published results concerning defects in InP and SiC or beneficially complement them. Thus, in particular the potential of electrical characterization by MDP and MD-PICTS measurements is proofed. Both techniques have been applied for the first time for defect characterization of InP and SiC during these studies. The respective experiments are complemented by a theoretical consideration of the corresponding signal development mechanism in order to develop an explanation approach for occasionally occurring experimental imperfection also arising during silicon characterization from time to time.:1 Motivation 2 Theses 3 Compound semiconductors: structure and benefits 4 Growth of compound semiconductors 5 Structural defects in compound semiconductors 6 Defects and their impact on electronic material properties 7 Effect of annealing treatments on the properties of InP 8 Experimental details 9 Experimental results 10 Summary of the thesis 11 Conclusion and impact 12 Prospect of future work 13 Appendix - Theory of signal development 14 List of tables 15 List of figures 16 List of abbreviations and symbols 17 Eidesstattliche Erklärung - Declaration of academic honesty 18 Danksagung - Acknowledgment 19 Veröffetnlichungen - Publications 20 References

Die organisch-anorganische Hybridelektronik bietet verschiedene Möglichkeiten zur Entwicklung neuartiger Bauelemente, welche die Vorteile von organischen und anorganischen Halbleitern vereinen. Planare Bauelemente werden typischerweise mittels Schattenmasken-basierter Strukturierung hergestellt. Ein Grund hierfür ist die Empfindlichkeit organischer Halbleiter gegenüber Ultraviolettem Licht und Lösungsmitteln, welche in den Standard-Photolithographieprozessen eingesetzt werden. Die Schattenmasken-Strukturierung führt allerdings zu Bauelementen mit kleinsten Abmessungen im Mikrometerbereich. Für die Reduzierung der Kanalabmessungen von planaren organisch-anorganischen Hybridbauelementen unterhalb eines Mikrometers ist die Elektronenstrahllithographie die am häufigsten verwendete Technik. Aufgrund des hohen Kosten- und Zeitaufwandes ist es nicht möglich, diese Technik für Wafermaßstab-Herstellung in der industriellen Anwendung einzusetzen. In dieser Arbeit wird eine alternative Technologie zur Herstellung von planaren Bauelementen mit isolierten Grabenelektroden und Kanalabmessungen von wenigen Hundert Nanometer bis unter 100 nm vorgestellt. Gräben kleiner als ein Mirkometer werden zunächst auf Silizium-Substraten strukturiert und anschließend mit einer isolierenden SiO2 Schicht aufgefüllt. Diese hilft dabei die gewünschten Elektrodenabstände, also die gewünschte Kanallänge, zu erreichen. Die Flexibilität des neuen Herstellungsverfahrens ermöglicht es nicht nur verschiedenen Kanallängen und Bauelement-Geometrie, sondern auch die Verwendung verschiedener Materialien für Elektroden und organischen Kanäle. Dies wiederum ermöglicht eine Vielfalt von potentiellen Anwendungen der hybriden Bauelemente. In dieser Arbeit wurde 6,13-bis (triisopropylsilylethinyl)-Pentacen (TIPS-Pentacen) Lösung und metallfreie Phthalocyanin als organisches Material verwendet und als Elektrodenmaterial diente Gold. Die entstandenen auf TIPS-Pentacen-Lösung basierenden planaren hybriden Bauelemente wurden für potentielle Anwendungen als optische sowie magnetoresistive Sensoren getestet.:Table of Contents Bibliografische Beschreibung 1 Chapter 1. Introduction 3 1.1 Organic-inorganic hybrid electronics 4 1.2 Inorganic semiconductors versus organic semiconductors 5 1.3 Electronic properties of a molecular layer 5 1.4 Vertical HEDs and planar HEDs 6 Chapter 2. Wafer-scale fabrication approach for planar HED-TIEs 8 2.1 Overview of nano-patterning techniques 8 (a) Electron beam lithography (EBL) 8 (b) Nanostencil lithography (NSL) 8 (c) Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) 9 2.2 Fabrication of planar organic-inorganic HED-TIEs 12 2.2.1 Trench refill approach for fabricating HED-TIEs 12 2.2.1.1 Deposition of the trench refill layer 15 2.2.1.2 Deposition of the organic channel material 16 (a) HED-TIE with thermally evaporated organic channel 16 (b) HED-TIE with solution processed organic channel 18 2.2.2 Spacer approach for fabricating HED-TIEs 21 2.2.2.1 Deposition of the isolation layer 23 2.3 Characterization techniques 26 (a) Electrical characterization 26 (b) Raman spectroscopy 26 (c) Photoluminescence spectroscopy 27 2.4 Summary and outlook 27 Chapter 3. Electrical characterization of HED-TIEs 29 3.1 Theoretical background 29 3.1.1 Space charge limited current (SCLC) conduction mechanism 29 3.2 Experimental details 32 3.3 Results and discussions 34 3.4 Summary and outlook 40 Chapter 4. Application of HED-TIEs as optical sensors 41 4.1 Photosensing properties of TIPS-pentacene based HED-TIEs 41 4.1.1 Theoretical background 41 4.1.2 Experimental details 43 4.1.3 Results and discussions 44 4.1.4 Summary and outlook 49 4.2 Photosensing properties of TIPS-pentacene based HED-TIEs with Au nanoparticles in the channel matrix 50 4.2.1 Theoretical background 50 4.2.2 Experimental details 51 4.2.3 Results and discussions 52 4.2.4 Summary and outlook 59 Chapter 5. Application of HED-TIE devices as magnetoresistive sensors 61 5.1 Theoretical background 61 5.1.1 Organic spintronics 61 5.1.2 Mechanisms of organic magnetoresistance (OMAR) 65 (a) Bipolaron model 68 (b) Electron-hole (e-h) pair model 69 (c) Exciton–charge interaction model 70 5.2. OMAR measurements on TIPS-pentacene OFETs and HED-TIEs 71 5.2.1 Experimental details 71 5.3 Results and discussions 73 5.4 Summary and outlook 79 Chapter 6. Summary and outlook 81 References 86 List of Figures 97 List of Tables 103 List of Abbreviations 104 Acknowledgements 106 List of Publications 108 List of Conference Presentations and Posters 109 Selbstständigkeitserklärung 111 Curriculum Vitae 112

Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die optische Untersuchung von ferroelektrischen Domänen und Domänenwänden auf lokaler Skala. Dafür wurden neuartige nichtinvasive Ansätze entwickelt, die auf der Anwendung optischer Rastersondenmikroskopie basieren. Die untersuchten Schlüsseleigenschaften umfassen den elektrooptischen Effekt für verschiedene Domänenorientierungen und die Brechungindexänderungen an Domänenwänden an Bariumtitanat-Einkristallen. Die lokale Messung der elektrooptischen Eigenschaften wurde mit räumlich stark begrenzten elektrischen Feldern durchgeführt, die mittels elektrisch leitfähigen Spitzen angelegt wurden. Dieser experimentelle Ansatz erlaubt nicht nur die Messung verschiedener elektrooptischer Koeffzienten, sondern auch die Unterscheidung von allen auftretenden, auch antiparallelen, Domänenausrichtungen. Durch Anlegen eines zusätzlichen elektrischen Feldes mittels der gleichen Spitze konnte auch das ferroelektrische Schalten mit dieser optischen Methode untersucht werden. Die Experimente wurden durch eine numerische Modellierung der elektrischen Feldverteilung und der resultierenden elektrooptischen Antwort begleitet. Die Ergebnisse der Modellierung sind dabei in sehr guter Übereinstimmung mit den experimentellen Ergebnissen. Dies erlaubt auch die Trennung von Beiträgen verschiedener elektrooptischer Koeffzienten und den entsprechenden Feldkomponenten. ür die experimentelle Untersuchung von den theoretisch vorhergesagten Brechungsindexprofilen einzelner Domänenwände, wurde die Sensitivität der optischen Sonde auf lokale Änderungen des Brechungsindex mittels Polarisations- und Positionsmodulation erhöht. Obwohl die Abbildung einer einzelnen Domänenwand nicht gelang, konnte damit zumindest eine obere Grenze für den optischen Effekt einer Domänenwand experimentell gewonnen werden, welche verträglich mit den theoretischen Vorhersagen ist. / The goal of this thesis is the optical investigation of ferroelectric domains and domain walls at the very local scale. For that, novel noninvasive approaches based on optical scanning probe microscopy are developed. The key properties investigated are the electrooptic effect for different domain orientations and refractive-index changes at single domain walls of barium titanate single crystals. The local probing of the electro-optic response is performed with strongly confined electric fields, applied via a conductive tip. With this approach we can not only probe different electro-optic coeffcients, but also identify all occurring domain orientations, even antiparallel ones. The application of additional bias fields by the same tip is used to investigate ferroelectric switching and domain growth by optical means. The experiments are supported by numerical modelling of the electric-field distribution and the resulting electro-optic response. The modelling shows excellent agreement with the measurements, and allows us to separate the contributions of different electro-optic coeffcients and their associated electric-field components. For the experimental observation of the theoretically predicted refractive-index profiles at single ferroelectric domain walls, polarization and position modulation of the optical probe is used to obtain high sensitivity to local modifications of the refractive index. An upper limit to the optical effect to the optical effect of a single domain wall is deduced from the experiment, which is compatible with the effect predicted by theory.

In the past decades, numerous single-molecule techniques have been developed to investigate individual bio-molecules and cellular machines. While a lot is known about the structure, localization, and interaction partners of such molecules, much less is known about their mechanical properties. To investigate the weak, non-covalent interactions that give rise to the mechanics of and between proteins, an instrument capable of resolving sub-nanometer displacements and piconewton forces is necessary. One of the most prominent biophysical tool with such capabilities is an optical tweezers. Optical tweezers is a non-invasive all-optical technique in which typically a dielectric microsphere is held by a tightly focused laser beam. This microsphere acts like a microscopic, three-dimensional spring and is used as a handle to study the biological molecule of interest. By interferometric detection methods, the resolution of optical tweezers can be in the picometer range on millisecond time scales. However, on a time scale of seconds—at which many biological reactions take place—instrumental noise such as thermal drift often limits the resolution to a few nanometers. Such a resolution is insufficient to resolve, for example, the ångstrom-level, stepwise translocation of DNA-binding enzymes corresponding to distances between single basepairs of their substrate. To reduce drift and noise, differential measurements, feedback-based drift stabilization techniques, and ‘levitated’ experiments have been developed. Such methods have the drawback of complicated and expensive experimental equipment often coupled to a reduced throughput of experiments due to a complex and serial assembly of the molecular components of the experiments. We developed a high-resolution optical tweezers apparatus capable of resolving distances on the ångstrom-level over a time range of milliseconds to 10s of seconds in surface-coupled assays. Surface-coupled assays allow for a higher throughput because the molecular components are assembled in a parallel fashion on many probes. The high resolution was a collective result of a number of simple, easy-to-implement, and cost-efficient noise reduction solutions. In particular, we reduced thermal drift by implementing a temperature feedback system with millikelvin precision—a convenient solution for biological experiments since it minimizes drift in addition to enabling the control and stabilization of the experiment’s temperature. Furthermore, we found that expanding the laser beam to a size smaller than the objective’s exit pupil optimized the amount of laser power utilized in generating the trapping forces. With lower powers, biological samples are less susceptible to photo-damage or, vice versa, with the same laser power, higher trapping forces can be achieved. With motorized and automated procedures, our instrument is optimized for high-resolution, high-throughput surface-coupled experiments probing the mechanics of individual biomolecules. In the future, the combination of this setup with single-molecule fluorescence, super-resolution microscopy or torque detection will open up new possibilities for investigating the nanomechanics of biomolecules.