Ionic crystals are among the simplest structures in nature. They can be easily cleaved in air and in vacuum, and the resulting surfaces are atomically flat on areas hundreds of nanometers wide. With the development of scanning probe microscopy, these surfaces have become an ideal “playground” to investigate several phenomena occurring on the nanometer scale. This book focuses on the fundamental studies of atomically resolved imaging, nanopatterning, metal deposition, molecular self-assembling and nanotribological processes occurring on ionic crystal surfaces. Here, a significant variety of structures are created by nanolithography, annealing and irradiation by electrons, ions or photons, and are used to confine metal particles and organic molecules or to improve our basic understanding of friction and wear on the atomic scale. Metal oxides with wide band gap are also discussed. Altogether, the results obtained so far will have an undoubted impact on the future development of nanoelectronics and nanomechanics.

The basics and principles of new electrochemical methods and also their usage for fabrication and analysis of different nanostructures were discussed in this book. These methods consist of electrochemical methods in nanoscale (e.g. electrochemical atomic force microscopy and electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy) and also electrochemical methods for fabrication of nanomaterials.

Micro and Nanoscale Laser Processing of Hard Brittle Materials examines general laser-material interactions within this type of material, focusing on the nanoprocessing technologies that these phenomena have given rise to. Sections cover laser machining, healing, recovery, sintering, surface modification, texturing and microstructuring. These technologies all benefit from the characteristics of laser processing, its highly localized heating ability, and its well-defined optical properties. The book also describes frontier applications of the developed technologies, thus further emphasizing the possibility of processing hard brittle materials into complex structures with functional surfaces at both the micro and nanoscale. Provides readers with a solid understanding of laser-material interactions Helps readers choose suitable laser parameters for processing hard brittle materials Demonstrates how micro and nanoscale laser processing can be used to machine brittle materials without fracture

Because of its simplicity of use and quantitative results, Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM) has become an indispensable tool for the study of surface reactivity. The fast expansion of the SECM field over several years has been fueled by the introduction of new probes, commercially available instrumentation, and new practical applications. Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy, Third Edition offers essential background and in-depth overviews of specific applications in self-contained chapters. The vitality and growing popularity of SECM over the past 30+ years have largely been determined by its versatility and capability to remain useful in the changing scientific and technological environments. New applications reported during the last decade reflect significant current activity in biomedical and energy-related research. This thoroughly updated edition provides up-to-date comprehensive reviews of different aspects of SECM. New chapters by renowned professionals in the field cover recent advances in different areas of SECM including nanoSECM, surface reactions and films, batteries, and fuel cells. Expanded coverage of electrocatalysis and surface interrogation as well as photoelectrochemistry and photoelectrocatalysis are also provided. Useful for a broad range of interdisciplinary research—from biological systems to nanopatterning—this book is invaluable to all interested in learning and applying SECM.

New Approaches to Image Processing Based Failure Analysis of Nano-Scale ULSI Devices introduces the reader to transmission and scanning microscope image processing for metal and non-metallic microstructures. Engineers and scientists face the pressing problem in ULSI development and quality assurance: microscopy methods can’t keep pace with the continuous shrinking of feature size in microelectronics. Nanometer scale sizes are below the resolution of light, and imaging these features is nearly impossible even with electron microscopes, due to image noise. This book presents novel "smart" image processing methods, applications, and case studies concerning quality improvement of microscope images of microelectronic chips and process optimization. It explains an approach for high-resolution imaging of advanced metallization for micro- and nanoelectronics. This approach obviates the time-consuming preparation and selection of microscope measurement and sample conditions, enabling not only better electron-microscopic resolution, but also more efficient testing and quality control. This in turn leads to productivity gains in design and development of nano-scale ULSI chips. The authors also present several approaches for super-resolving low-resolution images to improve failure analysis of microelectronic chips. Acquaints users with new software-based approaches to enhance high-resolution microscope imaging of microchip structures Demonstrates how these methods lead to productivity gains in the development of ULSI chips Presents several techniques for the superresolution of images, enabling engineers and scientists to improve their results in failure analysis of microelectronic chips