Kelvin probe force microscopy and spectroscopy

Thilo Glatzel / University of Basel

June 23, 2021, 2 - 3 pm CEST

 

Introduction

Scanning probe microscopy is one of the most important surface science methods for characterizing a variety of different surface and subsurface properties at the nanoscale. Atomic force microscopy, and in particular Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), allows the detection of atomic scale forces and separation into their different components, namely Van der Waals, magnetic, electric and chemical bonding forces. KPFM allows the electrostatic forces to be separated from these components and the work function, surface band bending, and electric dipole strength to be determined at the nanometer scale. In the talk, I will present the different techniques used to perform these measurements using various examples and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques. Finally, I will also discuss the spectroscopy mode and the determination of the local work function differences at molecular and atomic scales.

Thilo Glatzel

Thilo Glatzel studied physics at the Free University of Berlin, at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and with a Minerva Fellowship of the Max Planck Society at the Tel-Aviv University. He joined the group of Prof. Martha Lux-Steiner at the Department of Solar Energy of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in 2000 to do a PhD in condensed matter physics on the implementation of Kelvin probe force microscopy and the development of chalcopyrite based thin film solar cells. After receiving his PhD degree from the Free University of Berlin in 2003 he held research positions at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, at the Yamanashi University as a JSPS fellow, and in the Physics Department of the University of Basel. Since 2005, he has been with the force microscopy group of Prof. Ernst Meyer at the University of Basel where his research focuses on the opto-electronic properties of nanometer-scale structures and materials with a particular emphasis on single molecule characterization. Thilo Glatzel was elected as an Executive Board member of the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, has edited two books on Kelvin probe force microscopy in the Surface Science series of Springer, and has organized several international conferences. He received the venia docendi in physics from the University of Basel in 2017.

Thematic issues

Thilo Glatzel has edited or co-edited several thematic issues in the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology. All issues can be downloaded as a complete PDF with one click:

     Advanced atomic force microscopy II  (Download PDF)
     Advanced atomic force microscopy  (PDF)
     Nanoanalytics for materials science  (PDF)
     Advanced atomic force microscopy techniques IV  (PDF)
     Advanced atomic force microscopy techniques III  (PDF)
     Advanced atomic force microscopy techniques II  (PDF)
     Advanced atomic force microscopy techniques  (PDF)