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The role of tip size and orientation, tip-surface relaxations and surface impurities in simultaneous AFM and STM studies on the TiO<inf>2</inf>(110) surface

Abstract:

In this work we investigate some of the key factors in simultaneously recorded scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) images of the TiO2(110) surface, particularly the role of tip size and orientation in the obtained contrast pattern, and the importance of tip-surface relaxations and surface impurities in measured currents. We show that, while using multi-channel scanning modes provides an increase in physical data from a given measurement and greatly aids in interpretation, it also demands much greater rigor in simulations to provide a complete comparison. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.