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Breaking the Time Barrier in Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy: Fast Free Force Reconstruction Using the G-Mode Platform

Journal Article · · ACS Nano

The atomic force microscope (AFM) offers unparalleled insight into structure and material functionality across nanometer length scales. However, the spatial resolution afforded by the AFM tip is counterpoised by slow detection speeds compared to other common microscopy techniques (e.g. optical, scanning electron microscopy etc.). In this work, we develop an AFM imaging approach allowing ultrafast reconstruction of the tip-sample forces having ~2 orders of magnitude higher time resolution than standard detection methods. Fast free force recovery (F3R) overcomes the widely-viewed temporal bottleneck in AFM, i.e. the mechanical bandwidth of the cantilever, enabling time-resolved imaging at sub-bandwidth speeds. We demonstrate quantitative recovery of electrostatic forces with ~10 µs temporal resolution, free from cantilever ring-down effects. We further apply the F3R method to Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements. F3R-KPFM is an open loop imaging approach (i.e. no bias feedback), allowing ultrafast surface potential measurements (e.g. < 20 µs) to be performed at regular KPFM scan speeds. F3R-KPFM is demonstrated for exploration of ion migration in organometallic halide perovskites materials and shown to allow spatio-temporal imaging of positively charged ion migration under applied electric field, as well as subsequent formation of accumulated charges at the perovskite/electrode interface. In this work we demonstrate quantitative F3R-KPFM measurements – however, we fully expect the F3R approach to be valid for all modes of non-contact AFM operation, including non-invasive probing of ultrafast electrical and magnetic dynamics.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1399933
Journal Information:
ACS Nano, Journal Name: ACS Nano Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 11; ISSN 1936-0851
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (17)

High-veracity functional imaging in scanning probe microscopy via Graph-Bootstrapping journal June 2018
Review of time-resolved non-contact electrostatic force microscopy techniques with applications to ionic transport measurements journal January 2019
Progress of Surface Science Studies on ABX 3 ‐Based Metal Halide Perovskite Solar Cells journal April 2020
Imaging Metal Halide Perovskites Material and Properties at the Nanoscale journal December 2019
Application of pan-sharpening algorithm for correlative multimodal imaging using AFM-IR journal April 2019
Heterogeneity at multiple length scales in halide perovskite semiconductors journal July 2019
Mapping piezoelectric response in nanomaterials using a dedicated non-destructive scanning probe technique journal January 2017
Imaging photogenerated charge carriers on surfaces and interfaces of photocatalysts with surface photovoltage microscopy journal January 2018
How the formation of interfacial charge causes hysteresis in perovskite solar cells journal January 2018
High-throughput sequential excitation for nanoscale mapping of electrochemical strain in granular ceria journal January 2019
Quantitative comparison of closed-loop and dual harmonic Kelvin probe force microscopy techniques journal December 2018
Intermodulation spectroscopy as an alternative to pump-probe for the measurement of fast dynamics at the nanometer scale journal January 2019
Time resolved surface photovoltage measurements using a big data capture approach to KPFM journal September 2018
Towards nanoscale electrical measurements in liquid by advanced KPFM techniques: a review journal July 2018
Mapping piezoelectric response in nanomaterials using a dedicated non-destructive scanning probe technique text January 2017
Heterogeneity at multiple length scales in halide perovskite semiconductors text January 2019
Intermodulation spectroscopy as an alternative to pump-probe for the measurement of fast dynamics at the nanometer scale text January 2018

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