Laser writing of nitrogen-doped silicon carbide for biological modulation.

Conducting or semiconducting materials embedded in insulating polymeric substrates can be useful in biointerface applications; however, attainment of this composite configuration by direct chemical processes is challenging. Laser-assisted synthesis has evolved as a fast and inexpensive technique to prepare various materials, but its utility in the construction of biophysical tools or biomedical devices is less explored. Here, we use laser writing to convert portions of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into nitrogen-doped cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC).

Variability and origins of grain boundary electric potential detected by electron holography and atom-probe tomography.

A number of grain boundary phenomena in ionic materials, in particular, anomalous (either depressed or enhanced) charge transport, have been attributed to space charge effects. Developing effective strategies to manipulate transport behaviour requires deep knowledge of the origins of the interfacial charge, as well as its variability within a polycrystalline sample with millions of unique grain boundaries. Electron holography is a powerful technique uniquely suited for studying the electric potential profile at individual grain boundaries, whereas atom-probe tomography provides access to the chemical identify of essentially every atom at individual grain boundaries.

Bioinspired, graphene-enabled Ni composites with high strength and toughness.

Nature's wisdom resides in achieving a joint enhancement of strength and toughness by constructing intelligent, hierarchical architectures from extremely limited resources. A representative example is nacre, in which a brick-and-mortar structure enables a confluence of toughening mechanisms on multiple length scales. The result is an outstanding combination of strength and toughness which is hardly achieved by engineering materials.

Atomically resolved calcium phosphate coating on a gold substrate.

Some articles have revealed that the electrodeposition of calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings entails a precursor phase, similarly to biomineralization in vivo. The chemical composition of the initial layer and its thickness are, however, still arguable, to the best of our knowledge. Moreover, while CaP and electrodeposition of metal coatings have been studied utilizing atom-probe tomography (APT), the electrodeposition of CaP ceramics has not been heretofore studied.

Alloy-assisted deposition of three-dimensional arrays of atomic gold catalyst for crystal growth studies.

Large-scale assembly of individual atoms over smooth surfaces is difficult to achieve. A configuration of an atom reservoir, in which individual atoms can be readily extracted, may successfully address this challenge. In this work, we demonstrate that a liquid gold-silicon alloy established in classical vapor-liquid-solid growth can deposit ordered and three-dimensional rings of isolated gold atoms over silicon nanowire sidewalls.

Systematic approaches for targeting an atom-probe tomography sample fabricated in a thin TEM specimen: Correlative structural, chemical and 3-D reconstruction analyses.

Atom-probe tomography (APT) is a unique analysis tool that enables true three-dimensional (3-D) analyses with sub-nano scale spatial resolution. Recent implementations of the local-electrode atom-probe (LEAP) tomograph with ultraviolet laser pulsing have significantly expanded the research applications of APT. The small field-of-view of a needle-shaped specimen with a less than 100 nm diam.

Heterogeneous silicon mesostructures for lipid-supported bioelectric interfaces.

Silicon-based materials have widespread application as biophysical tools and biomedical devices. Here we introduce a biocompatible and degradable mesostructured form of silicon with multi-scale structural and chemical heterogeneities. The material was synthesized using mesoporous silica as a template through a chemical vapour deposition process.

Evidence of sub-10 nm aluminum-oxygen precipitates in silicon.

In this research, ultraviolet laser-assisted atom-probe tomography (APT) was utilized to investigate precisely the behavior at the atomistic level of aluminum impurities in ultrathin epitaxial silicon layers. Aluminum atoms were incorporated in situ during the growth process. The measured average aluminum concentration in the grown layers exceeds by several orders of magnitude the equilibrium bulk solubility.

Laser-Assisted Field Evaporation and Three-Dimensional Atom-by-Atom Mapping of Diamond Isotopic Homojunctions.

It addition to its high evaporation field, diamond is also known for its limited photoabsorption, strong covalent bonding, and wide bandgap. These characteristics have been thought for long to also complicate the field evaporation of diamond and make its control hardly achievable on the atomistic-level. Herein, we demonstrate that the unique behavior of nanoscale diamond and its interaction with pulsed laser lead to a controlled field evaporation thus enabling three-dimensional atom-by-atom mapping of diamond (12)C/(13)C homojunctions.

An Atomistic Tomographic Study of Oxygen and Hydrogen Atoms and their Molecules in CVD Grown Graphene.

The properties and growth processes of graphene are greatly influenced by the elemental distributions of impurity atoms and their functional groups within or on the hexagonal carbon lattice. Oxygen and hydrogen atoms and their functional molecules (OH, CO, and CO2 ) positions' and chemical identities are tomographically mapped in three dimensions in a graphene monolayer film grown on a copper substrate, at the atomic part-per-million (atomic ppm) detection level, employing laser assisted atom-probe tomography. The atomistic plan and cross-sectional views of graphene indicate that oxygen, hydrogen, and their co-functionalities, OH, CO, and CO2 , which are locally clustered under or within the graphene lattice.

3D LITHOGRAPHY. Atomic gold-enabled three-dimensional lithography for silicon mesostructures.

Three-dimensional (3D) mesostructured semiconductors show promising properties and applications; however, to date, few methods exist to synthesize or fabricate such materials. Metal can diffuse along semiconductor surfaces, and even trace amounts can change the surface behavior. We exploited the phenomena for 3D mesoscale lithography, by showing one example where iterated deposition-diffusion-incorporation of gold over silicon nanowires forms etchant-resistant patterns.

C12/C13-ratio determination in nanodiamonds by atom-probe tomography.

The astrophysical origins of ∼ 3 nm-diameter meteoritic nanodiamonds can be inferred from the ratio of C12/C13. It is essential to achieve high spatial and mass resolving power and minimize all sources of signal loss in order to obtain statistically significant measurements. We conducted atom-probe tomography on meteoritic nanodiamonds embedded between layers of Pt.

Observation of self-assembled core-shell structures in epitaxially embedded TbErAs nanoparticles.

Self-assembled core-shell structured rare-earth nanoparticles (TbErAs) are observed in a III-V semiconductor host matrix (In0.53Ga0.47As) nominally lattice-matched to InP, grown via molecular beam epitaxy.

Specimen preparation for correlating transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography of mesoscale features.

Atom-probe tomography (APT) provides atomic-scale spatial and compositional resolution that is ideally suited for the analysis of grain boundaries. The small sample volume analyzed in APT presents, however, a challenge for capturing mesoscale features, such as grain boundaries. A new site-specific method utilizing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the precise selection and isolation of mesoscale microstructural features in a focused-ion-beam (FIB) microscope lift-out sample, from below the original surface of the bulk sample, for targeted preparation of an APT microtip by FIB-SEM microscopy is presented.

Colossal injection of catalyst atoms into silicon nanowires.

The incorporation of impurities during the growth of nanowires from the vapour phase alters their basic properties substantially, and this process is critical in an extended range of emerging nanometre-scale technologies. In particular, achieving precise control of the behaviour of group III and group V dopants has been a crucial step in the development of silicon (Si) nanowire-based devices. Recently it has been demonstrated that the use of aluminium (Al) as a growth catalyst, instead of the usual gold, also yields an effective p-type doping, thereby enabling a novel and efficient route to functionalizing Si nanowires.

The influence of tungsten on the chemical composition of a temporally evolving nanostructure of a model Ni-Al-Cr superalloy.

The influence of W on the temporal evolution of gamma' precipitation toward equilibrium in a model Ni-Al-Cr alloy is investigated by three-dimensional atom-probe (3DAP) microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We report on the alloys Ni-10 Al-8.5 Cr (at.