title: Probing nanoscale dipole-dipole interactions by electric force microscopy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mélin
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Diesinger
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deresmes
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stiévenard