Advances in AFM for the Characterization of 2D Materials

Comprehensive nanoscale characterization of 2D materials using AFM
Characterizing 2D materials involves examining a wide range of nanoscale structures, properties, and chemistry. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is extremely versatile, making it ideal for addressing these complexities. With AFM, researchers can investigate various aspects of 2D materials (often simultaneously), gaining detailed insights that are essential for advanced applications.

Webinar Summary

AFM plays a pivotal role in the nanoscale characterization of 2D materials by providing high-resolution topographical, mechanical, and electrical property mapping at the nanoscale, down to the atomic level. Identifying and characterizing single layers and multilayers is routine, while crystal orientation can often be determined with the proper choice of mode and probe. Since the AFM probe can act as a nanoscale electrode, it is possible to directly measure electrical properties of these materials at the relevant length scales between 1 and 100 nm. Photothermal AFM-IR (AFM-IR) adds localized chemical identification with nanometer scale spatial mapping by integrating infrared spectroscopy with AFM. Together, these capabilities correlate structure and chemistry, enabling comprehensive studies of complex 2D material systems. The AFM probe can also be used for nanomanipulation and nanolithography, allowing device fabrication by cutting, folding, or oxidation.

In this webinar, we discuss:

• Commonly used AFM modes for identification and characterization of 2D materials
• Recent advancements in consistency of high-resolution 2D material mapping
• Characterization of nanoelectrical properties in 2D materials through conductivity, impedance, and surface potential measurements
• Nanoscale chemical identification through AFM-IR spectroscopy and mapping
• Nanolithography on 2D materials, for example by tip-induced local anodic oxidation

Speaker: Bede Pittenger, Ph.D., Sr. Staff Development Scientist, AFM Applications, Bruker Nano Surfaces

Dr. Bede Pittenger is a Senior Staff Development Scientist in the AFM Unit of Bruker's Nano Surfaces Business.  He received his PhD in Physics from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) in 2000, but has worked with scanning probe microscopes for 25 years, building systems, developing techniques, and studying properties of materials at the nanoscale.  His work includes more than thirty publications and three patents on various techniques and applications of scanning probe microscopy.  Dr. Pittenger's interests span topics from interfacial melting of ice, to mechanobiology of cells and tissues, to the nanomechanics of polymers and composites.

Speaker: Ming Ye, Ph.D., Applications Scientist, Bruker

Ming Ye earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has more than 15 years of BioAFM experience.

Speaker: Peter De Wolf, Ph.D., Director of Technology & Application Development

Peter De Wolf is director for AFM technology & application development at Bruker Nano Surfaces, covering all applications related to Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM). He obtained his PhD from IMEC, Belgium on the development of new SPM methods for 2D carrier profiling in semiconductors and has more than 25 years of experience on SPM. He is the author and co-author of over 30 publications related to electrical characterization using SPM. He also owns several SPM patents, and developed several new SPM modes for electrical characterization.