High-resolution friction force microscopy under electrochemical control.
We report the design and development of a friction force microscope for high-resolution studies in electrochemical environments. The design choices are motivated by the experimental requirements of atomic-scale friction measurements in liquids. The noise of the system is analyzed based on a methodology for the quantification of all the noise sources. The quantitative contribution of each noise source is analyzed in a series of lateral force measurements. Normal force detection is demonstrated in a study of the solvation potential in a confined liquid, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane. The limitations of the timing resolution of the instrument are discussed in the context of an atomic stick-slip measurement. The instrument is capable of studying the atomic friction contrast between a bare Au(111) surface and a copper monolayer deposited at underpotential conditions in perchloric acid.
Labuda
Aleksander
A
Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T8, Canada.
Paul
William
W
Pietrobon
Brendan
B
Lennox
R Bruce
RB
Grütter
Peter H
PH
Bennewitz
Roland
R