Scanned Probe Microscopy Studies Of Thin Organic Films Using Cantilever Frequency Noise

Abstract

Scanned probe microscopy techniques can be used to create nanometerresolution surface maps of forces as small as an attonewton. In this work, a new method for measuring local electric field gradients at the surface of a polymer film is presented. The centerpiece of this thesis is a protocol for measuring and deciphering noise in a cantilever's resonance frequency (Chapter 4). The protocol was tested on thin polymer film samples; these measurements confirmed the predictions of a zero-free parameter theory described in Chapter 3, which relates cantilever frequency noise to local dielectric fluctuations emanating from within the polymer. Chapter 5 is a presentation of preliminary efforts towards achieving a local measurement of carrier mobility in an organic semiconductor.