Events in Physics
Neil Wilson
Nanoscale electrical characterisation by scanning probe microscopy.
Nanostructured materials, where the electronic properties are intrinsically linked to the material structure, offer fascinating opportunities for studying fundamental physics and are increasingly important for technological applications. Charge transport through these materials is often spatially highly heterogeneous on length scales which are also at the nanoscale; traditional bulk measurements cannot resolve the details of the charge transport mechanisms involved. In order to understand them we must be able to study this heterogeneity, i.e. spatially resolve electrical properties in the nanometer to micrometer range. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a fast evolving set of techniques uniquely suited to this challenge. SPM combines nanoscale resolution with the flexibility to act as a local probe for electrostatic potential, conductance, transconductance and carrier concentrations, operate on working devices and even minutely manipulate structures. I will illustrate the application of SPM for nanoscale electrical characterisation through the work that I have done studying conduction through carbon nanotubes, and more recently thin film organic semiconductors.