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Title: Nanophotonic Atomic Force Microscope Transducers Enable Chemical Composition and Thermal Conductivity Measurements at the Nanoscale [Nanophotonic AFM Transducers Enable Chemical Composition and Thermal Conductivity Measurements at the Nanoscale]

Journal Article · · Nano Letters
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [5]
  1. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Ewha Womans Univ., Seoul (Republic of Korea)
  2. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Seoul National Univ., Seoul (South Korea)
  3. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
  4. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
  5. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States)

The atomic force microscope (AFM) offers a rich observation window on the nanoscale, yet many dynamic phenomena are too fast and too weak for direct AFM detection. Integrated cavity-optomechanics is revolutionizing micromechanical sensing; however, it has not yet impacted AFM. Here, we make a groundbreaking advance by fabricating picogram-scale probes integrated with photonic resonators to realize functional AFM detection that achieve high temporal resolution (<10 ns) and picometer vertical displacement uncertainty simultaneously. The ability to capture fast events with high precision is leveraged to measure the thermal conductivity (η), for the first time, concurrently with chemical composition at the nanoscale in photothermal induced resonance experiments. The intrinsic η of metal–organic-framework individual microcrystals, not measurable by macroscale techniques, is obtained with a small measurement uncertainty (8%). The improved sensitivity (50×) increases the measurement throughput 2500-fold and enables chemical composition measurement of molecular monolayer-thin samples. In conclusion, our paradigm-shifting photonic readout for small probes breaks the common trade-off between AFM measurement precision and ability to capture transient events, thus transforming the ability to observe nanoscale dynamics in materials.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
1377601
Report Number(s):
SAND-2017-8862J; 656353
Journal Information:
Nano Letters, Vol. 17, Issue 9; ISSN 1530-6984
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 75 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Observation of phonon-polaritons in thin flakes of hexagonal boron nitride on gold journal April 2018
Nanostructured Lipid-Based Films for Substrate-Mediated Applications in Biotechnology journal January 2018
Nanoscale partitioning of paclitaxel in hybrid lipid–polymer membranes journal January 2018
Nanoscale spectroscopic origins of photoinduced tip–sample force in the midinfrared journal December 2019
Revealing the Distribution of Metal Carboxylates in Oil Paint from the Micro‐ to Nanoscale journal July 2019
Revealing the Distribution of Metal Carboxylates in Oil Paint from the Micro‐ to Nanoscale journal July 2019
Mitochondria-targeted zirconium metal–organic frameworks for enhancing the efficacy of microwave thermal therapy against tumors journal January 2018
Review—Beyond the Highs and Lows: A Perspective on the Future of Dielectrics Research for Nanoelectronic Devices journal January 2019
Micro-thermocouple on nano-membrane: thermometer for nanoscale measurements preprint January 2018
Progress of infrared guided-wave nanophotonic sensors and devices journal April 2020
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