Issue 22, 2013

Nanogap based graphene coated AFM tips with high spatial resolution, conductivity and durability

Abstract

After one decade of analyzing the intrinsic properties of graphene, interest into the development of graphene-based devices and micro electromechanical systems is increasing. Here, we fabricate graphene-coated atomic force microscope tips by growing the graphene on copper foil and transferring it onto the apex of a commercially available AFM tip. The resulting tip exhibits surprising enhanced resolution in nanoscale electrical measurements. By means of topographic AFM maps and statistical analyses we determine that this superior performance may be related to the presence of a nanogap between the graphene and the tip apex, which reduces the tip radius and tip–sample contact area. In addition, the graphene-coated tips show a low tip–sample interaction, high conductivity and long life times. The novel fabrication-friendly tip could improve the quality and reliability of AFM experiments, while reducing the cost of AFM-based research.

Graphical abstract: Nanogap based graphene coated AFM tips with high spatial resolution, conductivity and durability

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
18 Jul 2013
Accepted
30 Aug 2013
First published
03 Sep 2013

Nanoscale, 2013,5, 10816-10823

Nanogap based graphene coated AFM tips with high spatial resolution, conductivity and durability

M. Lanza, T. Gao, Z. Yin, Y. Zhang, Z. Liu, Y. Tong, Z. Shen and H. Duan, Nanoscale, 2013, 5, 10816 DOI: 10.1039/C3NR03720G

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