title: Characterization of atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip shapes by scanning hydrothermally deposited ZnO thin films.
abstract: Direct observation of tip shapes by atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been achieved using spike-like crystallites in ZnO thin films deposited on microscope glass slides by the hydrothermal deposition technique. Three types of AFM tips, e.g. standard Si(3)N(4) tips, a broken silicon supertip and a noncontact silicon tip were examined and the acquired images for these tips show that ZnO crystallites are good samples to image commonly used AFM tips. The most obvious characteristic of this method is that it is easy for every chemical laboratory to access.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Institute of Material Research and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260, Singapore.
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Li