In the scope of this master thesis, a home-made brass scanning tunneling microscope (STM) was machined, assembled and tested for its functionality. For this microscope, a new approach-technique was used which follows the design suggested by Pan. The difference to Pan's design is the use of piezoplates, instead of piezostacks. Hence, the approach is still based on the stick and slip motion, but it allows the microscope to be more compact. A new and simple electronic circuit, in order to control the approach, is presented and was put together. This circuit is based on mechanical relays, which provide a sufficient long time gap between the single moving steps, due to their mechanical functional principle. Subsequently the approach-technique and the scanning was successfully tested. Finally, first images of HOPG were taken under ambient conditions. / text

Nanomanufacturing is an active research area in academia and industry due to the ever-growing demands for precision surface modifications of thin films or substrates with nanoscale features. Conventional lithographic techniques face many challenges as they approach their fundamental limits. Consequently, new nanomanufacturing tools, fabrication techniques, and precision instruments are being explored and developed to meet these challenges. It has been hypothesized that direct-write nanolithography might be achieved by using a field-emitted electron beam for nanomachining. This dissertation moves this research one step closer by developing a precision instrument that can enable the integration of direct-write nanolithography by a field-emitted electron beam with dimensional metrology by scanning tunneling microscopy. First, field emission from two prospective electron sources, a carbon nanotube field emitter and a sharp tungsten field emitter, is characterized at distances ranging from sub-micrometer to a few micrometers. Also, the design and construction of a low thermal drift piezoelectric linear motor is described for tip-sample approach. Experiments indicate that: the step size is highly repeatable with a standard deviation of less than 1.2 nm and the thermal stability is better than 40 nm/◦C. Finally, the design and construction of the instrument are presented. Experiments indicate that: the instrument is operating properly in scanning tunneling microscope mode with a resolution of less than 2 Å.

Superconductivity is a remarkable quantum phenomenon in which a macroscopic number of electrons form a condensate of Cooper pairs that can be described by a single quantum wave function. According to the celebrated Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity, there is a minimum length scale (the coherence length) below which the condensate has a rigid quantum phase. The fate of superconductivity in a system with spatial dimensions smaller than [the coherence length] has been the subject of intense interest for decades and recent studies of superconductivity in ultra-thin epitaxial metal films have revealed some surprising behaviors in light of BCS theory. Notably, it was found that superconductivity remains robust in thin lead films with thicknesses orders of magnitude smaller than the coherence length (i.e. in the extreme two dimensional limit). Such studies raise the critical question: what happens to superconductivity as all dimensions are reduced toward the zero dimensional limit? By controlling the lateral size of ultra thin 2D islands, we systematically address this fundamental question with a detailed scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy study. We show that as the lateral dimension is reduced, the strength of the superconducting order parameter is also reduced, at first slowly for dimensions larger than the bulk coherence length, and then dramatically at a critical length scale of ~ 40nm. We find this length scale corresponds to the lateral decay length of the order parameter in an island containing regions of different heights and different superconducting strength. Overall, our results suggest that fluctuation corrections to the BCS theory are important in our samples and may need to be systematically addressed by theory. / text

This dissertation provides a brief introduction into scanning tunneling microscopy, and then Chapter III reports on the design and operation of a cryogenic ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (STM) coupled to a closed-cycle cryostat (CCC). The STM is thermally linked to the CCC through helium exchange gas confined inside a volume enclosed by highly flexible rubber bellows. The STM is thus mechanically decoupled from the CCC, which results in a significant reduction of the mechanical noise transferred from the CCC to the STM. Noise analysis of the tunneling current shows current fluctuations up to 4% of the total current, which translates into tip-sample distance variations of up to 1.5 picometers. This noise level is sufficiently low for atomic-resolution imaging of a wide variety of surfaces. To demonstrate this, atomic-resolution images of Au(111) and NaCl(100)/Au(111) surfaces, as well as of carbon nanotubes deposited on Au(111), were obtained. Other performance characteristics such as thermal drift analysis and a cool-down analysis are reported. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements based on the lock-in technique were also carried out and showed no detectable presence of noise from the CCC. These results demonstrate that the constructed CCC-coupled STM is a highly stable instrument capable of highly detailed spectroscopic investigations of materials and surfaces at the atomic-scale. A study of electron transport in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was also conducted. In Chapter IV, STS is used to study the quantum-confined electronic states in SWCNTs deposited on the Au(111) surface. The STS spectra show the vibrational overtones which suggest rippling distortion and dimerization of carbon atoms on the SWCNT surface. This study experimentally connects the properties of well-defined localized electronic states to the properties of their associated vibronic states. In Chapter V, a study of PbS nanocrystals was conducted to study the effect of localized sub-bandgap states associated with surface imperfections. A correlation between their properties and the atomic-scale structure of chemical imperfections responsible for their appearance was established to understand the nature of such surface states. This dissertation includes both previously published/unpublished and co-authored material.

Submitted by LUIZ HENRIQUE BUGATTI GUESSI null (lhbguessi@gmail.com) on 2016-03-05T22:01:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Final_full_Luiz_Henrique_Guessi.pdf: 8393900 bytes, checksum: 733e3b310e036a5d66ec11c8c11f985e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-03-07T18:18:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 guessi_lhb_me_rcla.pdf: 8393900 bytes, checksum: 733e3b310e036a5d66ec11c8c11f985e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-07T18:18:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 guessi_lhb_me_rcla.pdf: 8393900 bytes, checksum: 733e3b310e036a5d66ec11c8c11f985e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Foi discutido teoricamente a Densidade Local de Estados (LDOS) de uma folha de grafeno hospedando duas impurezas distantes localizadas no centro da célula hexagonal. Ao acoplar lateralmente a ponta do Microcópio de Varredura por Tunelamento (STM) sobre o átomo de carbono, dois novos notáveis efeitos foram detectados: i) uma estrutura de multiníveis na LDOS e ii) padrões de batimentos na LDOS induzida. Também foram mostrados que ambos os fenômenos ocorrem próximos aos pontos de Dirac e são altamente anisotrópicos. Além disso, foram propostos experimentos de condutância empregando o STM como uma sonda para a observação de tais manifestações exóticas na LDOS do grafeno induzida pela correlação entre as impurezas. / We discuss theoretically the Local Density of States (LDOS) of a graphene sheet hosting two distant adatoms located at the center of the hexagonal cells. By putting laterally a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) tip over a carbon atom, two remarkable novel effects can be detected: i) a multilevel structure in the LDOS and ii) beating patterns in the induced LDOS. We show that both phenomena occur nearby the Dirac points and are highly anisotropic. Furthermore, we propose conductance experiments employing STM as a probe for the observation of such exotic manifestations in the LDOS of graphene induced by inter-adatoms correlations.

Le silicène est l’équivalent du graphène pour le silicium avec une structure bidimensionnelle (2D). Il est supposé avoir des propriétés électroniques intéressantes comme les fermions de Dirac sans masse et présentant une grande mobilité des électrons. L’existence du silicène a été montrée récemment sur des substrats de métaux nobles comme l’argent ou l’or. Cependant les résultats montrent des interactions fortes entre la couche de silicène et le substrat métallique, ce qui a pour conséquence de détruire les propriétés électroniques intrinsèques du silicène. Dans le but de résoudre ce problème, nous proposons dans ce travail d’explorer d’autres substrats potentiels présentant de faibles interactions avec le silicène. Nous avons étudié la croissance de couches 2D de silicium sur un film mince isolant de NaCl. En effet, les métaux alcalins halogénés tel que NaCl offrent une solution avantageuse comme surface alternative puisqu'ils se comportent comme une couche diélectrique, permettant la caractérisation du silicène. Nous avons étudié les propriétés structurales et électroniques des couches de silicium 2D déposées sur un film mince de NaCl, lui-même déposé sur un substrat d’Ag(110). Une étude expérimentale a été réalisée combinant un grand nombre de techniques utilisées en science des surfaces telles que : « low energy electron diffraction » (LEED), « Auger electron spectroscopy » (AES), « scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy » (STM/STS), «extended x-ray absorption fine structure » (EXAFS), « x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy » (XPS) et « angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) ». L’absorption d’atomes de silicium sur les films de NaCl révèle l’existence d’une couche de silicium 2D superficielle avec une structure très ordonnée en forme de nids d’abeilles. Cette couche présente une interaction faible avec le substrat tout en étant analogue au silicène. Enfin, des expériences préliminaires sur la croissance de silicene sur des films de NaCl dissociés sont présentées. L’effet de l’irradiation électronique du film de NaCl ainsi que des mesures d’ARPES sur le silicène intercalé sur Na sont présentées. / Silicene, the silicon-based analog of graphene which has a two-dimensional (2D) structure. It is expected to have attractive electronic properties such as massless Dirac fermions and high electron mobility. The existence of silicene has been shown recently on noble metal substrates such as Ag and Au. The results present strong interactions between the silicene adlayer and the metallic substrate which destroy the intrinsic electronic properties of silicene. In order to solve this problem, we propose in this work to explore other potential substrates that have weaker interactions with silicene. We studied the growth of a 2D silicon layer on insulating NaCl thin film. Indeed, Alkali metal halides such as NaCl offer a great solution as an alternative surface because they behave as a dielectric layer, allowing characterization of silicene material. We studied the structural and electronic properties of 2D silicon layer grown on a NaCl film deposited over Ag(110) substrate. A combined experimental investigation was performed with a large number of techniques which are used in surface science such as: low energy electron diffraction (LEED), auger electron spectroscopy (AES), scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS), extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The adsorption of silicon atoms on NaCl films reveals the existence of a 2D silicon sheet adlayer with a highly ordered honeycomb-like structure. The silicon ad-layer has weak interactions with the substrate and it mimics the structure of silicene. Finally, preliminary experiments on the growth of silicene on dissociated NaCl films are presented. The effect of electron irradiation on the NaCl film and initial ARPES measurement on the silicone intercalated-Na atoms system are presented.

The precise control of the resonance frequency of plasmonic nanostructures is critical and depends on the size, composition, shape, and dielectric nature of the environment. The ability to control the shape and size of nanomaterials acutely depends on the fabrication technique and material design. We used a cheap and scalable method known as nanosphere lithography (NSL) to fabricate plasmonic nano-prism (NP) on glass and indium tin oxide substrate (ITO). The methods involve substrate hydrophilicity treatment, polystyrene nanosphere masking, metal deposition, and mask removal. The array and specific morphology of the fabricated NP was established using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Finally, we used UVVis spectroscopy to determine the plasmonic resonance frequencies of fabricated NP on different substrates. The results reported herein have potential applications in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and biosensing. We also used scanning tunneling microscope to obtain high spatial resolution images of supramolecular trigrams.

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