New Way Found to Read Nanoscale Vibrations

Mar 27, 11:10 AM

Current Headlines: U.S. scientists have developed a new method of reading nanomechanical oscillators -- tiny strips of vibrating silicon only a few hundred atoms thick.

Nanotechnology researchers say the oscillators might eventually replace quartz crystals in electronic circuits or be used to detect and identify bacteria and viruses. The problem is that measuring their vibrations is difficult.

Now Cornell University researchers have developed a method of measuring the vibrations by tapping with an atomic force microscope.

AFMs use a tiny probe that moves slowly just above a surface. Electrostatic attraction or repulsion between the atoms in the tip of the probe and those on the surface causes the probe to move up and down, creating an image of the surface so detailed individual atoms show up as bumps. Alternatively, such microscopes can be used in tapping mode, literally bouncing off the surface.

AFMs are all over the place, said Rob Ilic, research associate in the Cornell NanoScale Facility and lead author of the study. So this offers a simple way to study these structures.

The research was explained in the Feb. 23 online edition of the Journal of Applied Physics.