Chemical and mechanical properties of surfaces on the nanoscale

This research investigated the chemical and physical properties of materials on the nanoscale. Combinatorial atomic layer deposition was used to deposit conformal films with compositional gradients from 100% aluminum oxide to 100% zinc oxide. The films were characterized using ellipsometry, scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy to determine their thickness and composition, respectively. Atomic layer deposition was confirmed individually for aluminum oxide and zinc oxide. Combinatorial experiments confirmed the etching of ZnO by the trimethyl aluminum precursor, which was compensated for by adjusting the pulse sequence. Thin diamond-like carbon films were studied using scanning probe microscopy techniques (atomic force microscopy, friction force microscopy, digital pulsed force mode atomic force microscopy) and a method for quantifying the friction coefficient of these films was refined. Friction forces and the friction coefficient were measured for diamond-like carbon films over a range of relative humidity values and hysteresis effects were also studied. The adhesion changes due to fluorinated lubricant top coats on the diamond-like carbon were studied using digital pulsed force mode atomic force microscopy over a range of relative humidity values. Special diamond-like carbon coated tips were used in both sets of experiments to simulate the head-disk interaction between the slider and media in hard disk drive systems. Monodisperse oleic acid-capped lead selenide nanocrystals were synthesized using a modified hot injection method. Size-tunable nanocrystals were obtained by adjusting synthetic parameters. Nanocrystals were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, absorbance spectroscopy and UV-Visible spectroscopy. Organic ligands were also synthesized and used in ligand exchange experiments. Drop cast films of the nanocrystals with new ligands showed some change in FTIR peak position.