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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Preparation Of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Tips Using Pulsed Alternating Current Etching, Victor A. Valencia, Avesh A. Thaker, Johnathan Derouin, Damian N. Valencia, Rachael G. Farber, Dana A. Gebel, Daniel Killelea
Preparation Of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Tips Using Pulsed Alternating Current Etching, Victor A. Valencia, Avesh A. Thaker, Johnathan Derouin, Damian N. Valencia, Rachael G. Farber, Dana A. Gebel, Daniel Killelea
Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works
An electrochemical method using pulsed alternating current etching (PACE) to produce atomically sharp scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) tips is presented. An Arduino Uno microcontroller was used to control the number and duration of the alternating current (AC) pulses, allowing for ready optimization of the procedures for both Pt:lr and W tips using a single apparatus. W tips prepared using constant and pulsed AC power were compared. Tips fashioned using PACE were sharper than those etched with continuous AC power alone. Pt:lr tips were prepared with an initial coarse etching stage using continuous AC power followed by fine etching using PACE. …