A New Approach Towards Property Nanomeasurements Using In Situ TEM
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ABSTRACT Property characterization of nanomaterials is challenged by the small size of the structure because of the difficulties in manipulation. Here we demonstrate a novel approach that allows a direct measurement of the mechancial and electrical properties of individual nanotube-like structures by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The technique is powerful in a way that it can directly correlate the atomic-scale microstructure of the carbon nanotube with its physical properties, providing an one-to-one correspondence in structure-property characterization. Applications of the technique will be demonstrated on mechanical properties, the electron field emission and the ballistic quantum conductance in individual nanotubes. A nanobalance technique is demonstrated that can be applied to measure the mass of a single tiny particle as light as 22 fg (1 f= 10-'). INTRODUCTION Characterizing the properties of individual nanostructure is a challenge to many existing testing and measuring techniques because of the following constrains [I]. The size (diameter and length) is rather small, prohibiting the applications of the well-established testing techniques. The small size of the nanostructures makes their manipulation rather difficult, and specialized techniques are needed for picking up and installing individual nanostructure. Therefore, new methods and methodologies must be developed to quantify the properties of individual nanostructures. Among the various techniques, scanning probe microscopy (STM, AFM) has been a major tool in investigating the properties of individual nanostructures. We have recently developed a novel approach which uses in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) [2,3] as an effective tool for measuring the properties of individual carbon nanotubes. This is a new technique that not only can provide the properties of an individual nanotube but also can give the structure of the nanotube through electron imaging and diffraction, providing an ideal technique for understanding the property-structure relationship. The objective of this paper is to review our recent progress in applying in-situ TEM for characterizing the electrical, mechanical and field emission properties of carbon nanotubes, aiming at pointing out a new direction in nanomeasurements.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD TEM is a powerful tool for characterizing the atomic-scale structures of solid state materials. A powerful and unique approach could be developed if we could integrate the structural
217 Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 589 ©2001 Materials Research Society
information of a nanostructure provided by TEM with the properties measured from the same nanostructure by in-situ TEM. Thus, an one-to-one correspondence can be achieved, providing a model system for comprehensively understanding nanomaterials. To carry out the property measurement of a nanotube, a specimen holder for an JEOL 1OOC TEM (100 kV) was built for applying a voltage across a nanotube and its counter electrode [4]. The nanotube to be used for property mea
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