Atomic force microscopy in the surface characterization of semiconductors and superconductors

摘要

In the present paper I summarize the recent experience of my laboratory in the field of atomic force microscopy (AFM) applied to the study of the surfaces of both semiconducting and superconducting materials. I show that very useful results, both in fundamental and in applied physics, can be obtained by using simple contact-mode AFM in air, provided that particular attention is paid to the vibration isolation of the experimental set-up and to the cleavage of the samples' surface just before the measurement. Some examples are presented from the study of conventional and high-T-c layered superconductors up to the atomic resolution, to the precise determination of the thickness of GaAs/AlAs multilayers and of the best deposition parameters for the sputtering of piezoelectric thin films. [References: 21]