Nanochannel alignment analysis by scanning transmission ion microscopy.
In this paper a study on the ion transmission ratio of a nanoporous alumina sample is presented. The sample was investigated by scanning transmission ion microscopy (STIM) with different beam sizes. The hexagonally close-packed Al(2)O(3) nanocapillary array, realized as a suspended membrane of 15 microm thickness, had pore diameters of approximately 215 nm and spacing of approximately 450 nm. When the proton beam size was limited to a single domain, a peak transmission ratio of 19% was observed as is expected from the geometry (approximately 19-20%). This result points out an almost perfectly parallel alignment of the capillaries within one domain. However, for larger beam scanning areas (sampling multiple domains) the transmission ratio was reduced to 5%. The STIM analysis over an area larger than the typical domain size revealed an overall capillary angular spread of approximately 2 degrees.
Rajta
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Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS-ATOMKI), H-4026, Bem tér 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary. rajta@atomki.hu
Gál
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Szilasi
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Juhász
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Biri
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Mátéfi-Tempfli
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Mátéfi-Tempfli
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