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The device performances of organic thin film transistors are often limited by the metal-organic interface because of the disordered molecular layers at the interface and the energy barriers against the carrier injection. It is important to study the local impedance at the interface without being affected by the interface morphology. We combined frequency modulation atomic force microscopy with scanning impedance microscopy (SIM) to sensitively measure the ac responses of the interface to an ac voltage applied across the interface and the dc potential drop at the interface. By using the frequency-modulation SIM (FM-SIM) technique, we characterized the interface impedance of a Pt electrode and a single pentacene grain as a parallel circuit of a contact resistance and a capacitance. We found that the reduction of the contact resistance was caused by the reduction of the energy level mismatch at the interface by the FM-SIM measurements, demonstrating the usefulness of the FM-SIM technique for investigation of the local interface impedance without being affected by its morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distributions of surface charges or surface potentials on biological molecules and electrodes are directly related to various biological functions and ionic adsorptions, respectively. Electrostatic force microscopy and Kelvin-probe force microscopy (KFM) are useful scanning probe techniques that can map local surface charges and potentials. Here, we report the measurement and analysis of the electrostatic and capacitive forces on the cantilever tip induced by application of an alternating voltage in order to discuss the feasibility of measuring the surface charge or potential distribution at solid/liquid interfaces in various liquid media. The results presented here suggest that a nanometer-scale surface charge or potential measurement by the conventional voltage modulation techniques is only possible under ambient conditions and in a non-polar medium and is difficult in an aqueous solution. Practically, the electrostatic force versus dc voltage curve in water does not include the minimum, which is used for the surface potential compensation. This is because the cantilever oscillation induced by the electrostatic force acting on the tip apex is overwhelmed by the parasitic oscillation induced by the electrostatic force acting on the entire cantilever as well as the surface stress effect. We both experimentally and theoretically discuss the factors which cause difficulties in application of the voltage modulation techniques in the aqueous solutions and present some criteria for local surface charge and potential measurements by circumventing these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local hydration structures at the solid-liquid interface around boundary edges on heterostructures are key to an atomic-level understanding of various physical, chemical and biological processes. Recently, we succeeded in visualising atomic-scale three-dimensional hydration structures by using ultra-low noise frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy. However, the time-consuming three-dimensional-map measurements on uneven heterogeneous surfaces have not been achieved due to experimental difficulties, to the best of our knowledge. Here, we report the local hydration structures formed on a heterogeneously charged phyllosilicate surface using a recently established fast and nondestructive acquisition protocol. We discover intermediate regions formed at step edges of the charged surface. By combining with molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal that the distinct structural hydrations are hard to observe in these regions, unlike the charged surface regions, possibly due to the depletion of ions at the edges. Our methodology and findings could be crucial for the exploration of further functionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kelvin-probe force microscopy (KFM) has been widely used to evaluate the localized charge trap states in the organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) channels. However, applicability of the KFM has been limited to the trapped charges whose lifetime is typically longer than several minutes because of the temporal resolution of the KFM. Therefore, it has not long been employed for studying the dynamics of the trapped charges in the OTFTs. Here, we demonstrate a method to visualize the transient distribution of the trapped charge carriers in operating OTFTs. The method allows visualizing the dynamics of the trapped charges during the gate voltage sweeps on a time scale of several hundreds of milliseconds. The experimental results performed on dinaphtho[2,3-b:2',3'-f] thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT) OTFTs indicate that, immediately after a bias voltage applied to a device was turned off, the primary discharging of the channel region around the electrode edges started and it limited the ejection process of the remaining accumulated charges to the electrodes, resulting in an increased density of long-lived trapped charges in a region distant from the electrodes. The presented results suggest that the method is useful to study the electrical connections at the interface between the DNTT grains and electrodes, or those between the grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution imaging in liquids using frequency modulation atomic force microscopy is known to suffer from additional peaks in the resonance spectrum that are unrelated to the cantilever resonance. These unwanted peaks are caused by acoustic modes of the liquid and the setup arising from the indirect oscillation excitation by a piezoelectric transducer. Photothermal excitation has been identified as a suitable method for exciting the cantilever in a direct manner. Here, we present a simple design for implementing photothermal excitation in a modified Multimode scan head from Bruker. Our approach is based on adding a few components only to keep the modifications as simple as possible and to maintain the low noise level of the original setup with a typical deflection noise density of about 15 fm/√Hz measured in aqueous solution. The success of the modification is illustrated by a comparison of the resonance spectra obtained with piezoelectric and photothermal excitation. The performance of the systems is demonstrated by presenting high-resolution images on bare calcite in liquid as well as organic adsorbates (Alizarin Red S) on calcite with simultaneous atomic resolution of the underlying calcite substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We report a rare case of incarcerated rectal prolapse with ileal strangulation occurring after a Gant-Miwa procedure with anal encircling (Thiersch’s procedure) for recurrent rectal prolapse. The patient was a 78-year-old woman who presented to our outpatient clinic the day after sudden rectal protrusion had occurred. She had undergone a Gant-Miwa procedure for rectal prolapse 4 years previously, and another Gant-Miwa procedure with anal encircling for recurrent rectal prolapse 18 months earlier. The patient attempted to reduce the prolapse manually, but was unsuccessful. On admission, a 10 × 4-cm semispherical mass was observed extra-anally, with a necrotic surface. We performed an emergency laparotomy, which rerealed a prolapse of the anterior wall of the rectum with part of the ileum protruding into the sac formation. Thus, we resected the incarcerated ileum followed by primary anastomosis and proctectomy (Hartmann’s procedure) with good results. This case demonstrates that ileal strangulation can occur as a complication of rectal prolapse recurrence after perineal repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an unusual case of anorectal agenesis with a rectourethral fistula diagnosed in a 48-year-old man. The patient presented after noticing hematuria, although he had been aware of urinary leakage from his colostomy with occasional fecal urine for about 4 years. He had had a double-barrel colostomy created soon after birth for an imperforate anus, with revision at the age of 4 years to correct a prolapse of the stoma, but his malformation had never been repaired. We performed a physical examination, which did not reveal a perineal fistula, but urethrocystography demonstrated high anorectal agenesis with a rectourethral fistula. Thus, we resected the rectourethral fistula and created an end-colostomy. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course, and was discharged in good health on postoperative day 19. To our knowledge, this is the oldest patient to be diagnosed with anorectal agenesis and undergo resection of a rectourethral fistula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact effects in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) were examined by using our previously proposed parameter extraction method from the electrical characteristics of a single staggered-type device. Gate-voltage-dependent contact resistance and channel mobility in the linear regime were evaluated for bottom-gate/top-contact (BGTC) pentacene TFTs with active layers of different thicknesses, and for pentacene TFTs with contact-doped layers prepared by coevaporation of pentacene and tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ). The extracted parameters suggested that the influence of the contact resistance becomes more prominent with the larger active-layer thickness, and that contact-doping experiments give rise to a drastic decrease in the contact resistance and a concurrent considerable improvement in the channel mobility. Additionally, the estimated energy distributions of trap density in the transistor channel probably reflect the trap filling with charge carriers injected into the channel regions. The analysis results in this study confirm the effectiveness of our proposed method, with which we can investigate contact effects and circumvent the influences of characteristic variations in OTFT fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrated near-field light detection using a non contact-mode atomic force microscope (nc-AFM). This system obtains molecular-level resolution by reducing noise in the displacement detection of a Si cantilever. The Si cantilever probe tip was brought close to a glass with a patterned chromium film on a dove prism. The backside of the prism was irradiated by an intensity-modulated laser light to create an evanescent field at the glass surface. We obtained a near-field optical image of the chromium-patterned glass by detecting the amplitude modulation induced by the near-field light while the tip–sample distance was regulated by the frequency modulation method under atmospheric conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A visualization technique of subsurface features with a nanometer-scale spatial resolution is strongly demanded. Some research groups have demonstrated the visualization of subsurface features using various techniques based on atomic force microscopy. However, the imaging mechanisms have not yet been fully understood. In this study, we demonstrated the visualization of subsurface Au nanoparticles buried in a polymer matrix 900 nm from the surface using two techniques; i.e., resonance tracking atomic force acoustic microscopy and contact resonance spectroscopy. It was clarified that the subsurface features were visualized by the two techniques as the area with a higher contact resonance frequency and a higher Q-factor than those in the surrounding area, which suggests that the visualization is realized by the variation of the contact stiffness and damping of the polymer matrix due to the existence of the buried nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed an atomic force microscopy (AFM) system with scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) using a microfabricated force-sensing cantilever with a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film. Both optical and mechanical detection techniques were adopted in SNOM to detect scattered light induced by the interaction of the PZT cantilever tip apex and evanescent light, and SNOM images were obtained for each detection scheme. The mechanical detection technique did allow for a clear observation of the light scattered from the PZT cantilever without the interference observed by the optical detection technique, which used an objective lens, a pinhole, and a photomultiplier tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A parameter extraction procedure for staggered-type organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), in which only the electrical characteristics of a single device are needed, was newly considered. The existing differential method and the transition voltage method for evaluating contact and channel parameters in OFETs were complementarily combined. The calibration of the total resistance between the source and the drain was also incorporated to compensate discrepancies in the total resistances calculated from output and transfer characteristics, caused by the existence of nonignorable contact resistance and carrier traps. By using our proposed method, gate-voltage-dependent contact resistance and channel mobility in the linear regime were evaluated for bottom-gate/top-contact pentacene thin-film transistors, and the channel-length dependence of these parameters was investigated. A series of results of parameter extraction confirm the validity of our proposed method, which is advantageous in avoiding the influences of characteristic variations that are frequently observed in practical OFET devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the organic semiconductor thin films deposited by vacuum evaporation deposition using intersecting metal shadow masks on indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode/glass substrates to simulate organic solar cells by simultaneous observation with dynamic force microscopy (DFM)/Kelvin-probe force microscopy (KFM). The energy band diagram was depicted by simultaneously obtaining topographic and surface potential images of the same area using DFM/KFM. We considered the charge behavior at the interface having band bending in the phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface charge distributions on biological molecules in aqueous solutions are essential for the interactions between biomolecules, such as DNA condensation, antibody–antigen interactions, and enzyme reactions. There has been a significant demand for a molecular-scale charge density measurement technique for better understanding such interactions. In this paper, we present the local electric double layer (EDL) force measurements on DNA molecules in aqueous solutions using frequency modulation atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM) with a three-dimensional force mapping technique. The EDL forces measured in a 100 mM KCl solution well agreed with the theoretical EDL forces calculated using reasonable parameters, suggesting that FM-AFM can be used for molecular-scale quantitative charge density measurements on biological molecules especially in a highly concentrated electrolyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) system based on frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM), using a microfabricated force-sensing cantilever with a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film as an integrated deflection sensor. In the system, an evanescent field is generated on the sample surface by total internal reflection, and the light transmitted through the optically transparent tip is collected by a photomultiplier while the gap distance between the tip and the sample surface is regulated by the FM detection method. We obtained a SNOM image of a sample with the nanometer-scale resolution of polystyrene particles dispersed in a polyvinyl alcohol thin film deposited onto a glass substrate with the developed SNOM/AFM system, under a completely dark condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a novel method for nanometer-sized droplet deposition of electrically conductive liquids based on the dynamic mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). We succeeded in depositing liquid droplets with a volume of ten zeptoliters or smaller and in making arrays of the droplets with a spacing of several tens of nanometers using the AFM cantilever with a small aperture fabricated by a focused ion beam. The liquid droplets were deposited through the aperture by applying an electric field between the liquid and a conductive surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed an alternative method to measure force curves reproducibly by noncontact force spectroscopy for studying molecules. In this method, the force curve is collected without disabling the tip-sample distance feedback thereby in a non-destructive manner. The method can be used when the interaction force versus the tip-sample distance is monotonic and it is useful especially for measuring force curves on organic surfaces. We safely obtained the force curves, which are overlapped with those measured by the conventional method on graphite and lead-phthalocyanine samples in ultra high vacuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submolecular resolution viscoelastic imaging of a poly(2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-diyl bis(p-toluene-sulfonate)) single crystal was achieved using force modulation microscopy under ambient conditions. The elastic image clearly visualized the structure of p-toluene-sulfonate side chains. The viscotic image visualized that the phase delay on the main chains was smallest, while it became largest on the toluene rings in the side chains. The result is considered to be closely related to the molecular dynamics of the crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We produced local polarized domains of ferroelectric P(VDF/TrFE) copolymer thin films on a carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CN-FET) channel by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The drain current versus gate voltage (Id-Vg) curves measured after forming the local polarized domains showed a shift in the threshold voltages. We also found that the amount of the shifts in the threshold voltages gradually decreased during the measurement of this characteristic over 100 h after forming the polarized domains. The mechanisms of the shifts in the threshold voltages and their decreasing behaviour were explained in terms of the excessive charges that were induced upon the formation of the polarized domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface potentials of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) connecting two metallic electrodes have been investigated by both Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM) and atomic force microscope potentiometry (AFMP). By comparing the surface potential measurements obtained by both methods, we also studied the major factors affecting the potential measurements of the SWNTs, such as the surroundings, stray electric fields, and the effect of the AFM tip size, which can be larger than the SWNT diameter. In this study, we used KFM based on non-contact AFM and AFMP using the point-by-point contact mode in which the AFM tip worked as a voltage probe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent progress in Japan in the techniques and applications of dynamic mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), specifically focusing on three topics: (1) mechanical discrimination of intermixed two-atom species and their manipulation by frequency modulation (FM) AFM under ultrahigh vacuum; (2) sub-molecular and atomic-resolution imaging in liquids by FM-AFM; and (3) high-speed imaging of biological macromolecules in solution by amplitude modulation (AM) AFM. After reviewing the state of the art of these high-performance AFMs and various techniques that have enabled them, we present future prospects for these AFMs and for technological innovations that will be led by them. These prospects are given from the viewpoint of Japanese groups that have been involved in these three topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]