Atomic force microscopy in mechanical measurements of single nanowires.

In this paper, we present the results of mechanical measurement of single nanowires (NWs) in a repeatable manner. Substrates with specifically designed mechanical features were used for NW placement and localization for measurements of properties such as Young's modulus or tensile strength of NW with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) system. Dense arrays of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were obtained by one-step anodic oxidation of metallic Zn foil in a sodium bicarbonate electrolyte and thermal post-treatment.

Wavelet-based information theory in quantitative assessment of AFM images' quality.

The quantitative assessment of the image quality produced by atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an ongoing and challenging task. In our study, we demonstrate Shannon's application of information theory for measuring image quality. Specifically, we propose quantifying the loss of image information due to the various distortion processes by exploring the relationship between image information based on the information channel capacity (ICC), spectral image representation, and visual quality.

Four-Point Measurement Setup for Correlative Microscopy of Nanowires.

The measurement method, which utilizes nanomanipulation of the nanowires onto a specially prepared substrate, was presented. It introduced a four-point resistance measurement setup on a chip suited for scanning probe microscopy measurements, integrating connectors and a nanowire specimen. A study on the resistance and resistivity of the thermally post-treated ZnO nanowires at 200 °C and 300 °C in air showed the dependence of these electrical parameters on the annealing temperature.

Thermo-Optical and Structural Studies of Iodine-Doped Polymer: Fullerene Blend Films, Used in Photovoltaic Structures.

Optical and structural properties of a blend thin film of (1:1 wt.) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) doped with iodine (I) and then exposed to a stepwise heating were reported and compared with the properties of doped P3HT films. The UV-Vis() absorption measurements were performed in situ during annealing runs, at the precisely defined temperatures, in a range of 20-210 °C.

Layer number dependence of the work function and optical properties of single and few layers MoS: effect of substrate.

We have examined the influence of flake-substrate effects that affect one and few layers of MoS in terms of their electrical and optical properties. In the measurements, we used SiO/Si substrates with etched cavities and aluminum electrodes. Suspended areas are easily identifiable both on images depicting the topography and on the surface potential maps measured with the Kelvin probe force microscopy.