Researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) have developed a hybrid nanomicroscope that can simultaneously measure the properties of various nanomaterials.
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This hybrid nanomicroscope is very important for studying the properties of nanocomposites and is well suited for commercialization. Through this, the development of related equipment and material-related industries is expected.
The newly developed microscope can integrate the functions of light-induced force microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electrostatic force microscopy. Instead of using lenses, this microscope utilizes precise functional probes to interact with the sample, allowing immediate measurement of the electrical and optical properties as well as the morphology of nanomaterials in a single scan.
Double-layer graphene is a representative nanomaterial that can benefit from hybrid nanomicroscopy. It has remarkable potential for applications due to its outstanding mechanical flexibility, strength and high thermal conductivity that surpasses that of single-layer graphene.
Double-layer graphene exhibits a variety of properties, including superconductivity, which can be influenced by the voltage applied to each layer or the twist angle between the two layers.
The KRISS Materials Properties Metrology group used hybrid nanomicroscopy to elucidate the principles behind the unique infrared absorption response of bilayer graphene. The research team confirmed that this phenomenon occurs due to charge imbalance between the two graphene layers. Moreover, they experimentally demonstrated the ability to manipulate infrared absorption by intentionally inducing and modifying charge imbalance.
Conventional nanomicroscopes are limited to measuring single properties of materials at once, making it difficult to measure and investigate complex properties. There have been cases of measuring both properties simultaneously, but the difficult manufacturing process of these devices has hindered their commercialization.
The innovative nanomicroscope developed by KRISS can be easily applied to industrial sites with minimal changes to the structure of the current atomic force microscope. As a result, the KRISS research team designed the first market-ready hybrid nanomicroscope.
Expanding the measurement capabilities of hybrid nanomicroscopy to include magnetic properties in addition to electrical and optical properties allows immediate observation of all three properties at the nanometer scale. These advances will accelerate research into the properties of numerous nanocomposites, including quantum materials, and will benefit the advancement of nanomaterials, devices, and components.
Another advantage of this new technique is that it can induce localized changes in properties. By scratching the sample surface using a microscopic probe and modifying the amount of applied electrons, it has become possible to simultaneously modulate the electrical and optical properties of a switch-like component. This feature can be useful for designing circuits and advanced devices that take advantage of complex properties.
This achievement is the fruit of research experience accumulated in the field of nanomeasurement since 2015. We aim to secure a leading position in new material research through the development of composite nano-measuring technology.
Dr. Eunseong Lee, Senior Researcher, Materials Property Measurement Group, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
Journal references:
Jay Jang, except. (2024) Characterizing and controlling infrared phonon anomalies in bilayer graphene in photoelectric force nanoscopy. Light: Science and Applications. doi:10.1038/s41377-023-01320-1
Source: https://www.kriss.re.kr/eng/