Koichi Mukasa

Atomically Resolved Imaging of a NiO(001) Surface

Metal oxides are of great technological importance because of the variety of applications in which they are involved. One example is their use in catalysis. The surface structure of metal oxides has thus been the subject of much investigation. However, the low conductivity inherent in metal oxides makes it difficult to measure surface structure using electron beams or by STM. NC-AFM provides atomically resolved images of semiconducting or conducting surfaces and even insulators. NC-AFM enables the direct surface imaging of metal oxides on an atomic scale. The forces detected by NC-AFM originate from several kinds of interaction between the surface and the tip, including in some cases magnetic interactions. Theoretical studies predict that shortrange magnetic interactions such as the exchange interaction enable NC-AFM to image magnetic moments on an atomic scale.