Probing nanoscale dipole-dipole interactions by electric force microscopy.
We address the issue of dipole-dipole interaction measurements at the nanometer scale. Electric dipoles with tunable effective momentum in the range 10(3)-10(4) D are generated by charge injection in single silicon nanoparticles on a conductive substrate and probed by a spectroscopic electric force microscopy analysis. Weak dipole-dipole force gradients are measured and identified from their quadratic momentum dependence. The results suggest that dipolar interactions associated with atomic-scale charge displacements or molecules can be probed by noncontact atomic force microscopy.
Mélin
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Institut d'Electronique de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie, CNRS-UMR, 8520, Avenue Poincaré, BP 69, 59652 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France. thierry.melin@isen.fr
Diesinger
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Deresmes
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Stiévenard
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