Fabrication and characterization of ultra-flat thin-film material surfaces for nanoscale research and device applications

To fully enable the generation of device applications from nanoscience research, a range of thin-film material surfaces, well-characterized and uniform at the nanoscale, must be made available. This thesis focuses on developing fabrication techniques for producing a range of ultra-flat metal, metal-oxide and organic thin-film material surfaces, and on characterizing select thin-film surfaces of particular promise for nanoscale research and device applications. In specific, ultra-flat platinum, platinum-oxide and organic thin-film surfaces are fabricated and characterized using a variety of experimental techniques. Analysis of the results provides detailed scientific understandings of the formation and nanoscale properties of these thin-film surfaces.; The ultra-flat template-stripped (TS) Pt surfaces are produced and characterized using expanded template-stripping procedures, and in-situ ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) template-stripping techniques are developed to allow the first detailed UHV scanning-tunnelling-microscopy (STM) atomic-scale characterization of a TS surface (specifically TS-Pt). The UHV-STM data demonstrate that, under appropriate production conditions, the average structure of a TS Pt surface is well-defined at the atomic scale---similar, in fact, to single-crystal Pt surfaces, though significantly less costly and time-consuming to produce. Advanced template-stripping procedures, incorporating a molecular releasing-layer on the templating-surface, are also developed (later in the thesis) and used to demonstrate micro-patterned ultra-flat Pt structures which are coplanar with an insulating matrix.; Modification of the ultra-flat Pt surfaces via the self-assembly thin-film organic monolayers (alkanethiols) and oxygen-plasma treatment is also explored. Examination of the organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on ultra-flat metal (particularly Pt) thin-film substrates demonstrates that substrate smoothness is an important factor governing the uniformity of the SAM surfaces. The experimental data presented elucidate the nanoscale chemical properties and physical structure of the self-assembled organic thin-film surfaces, and further reveal important differences between the monolayers on different metal surfaces. Detailed characterization of the oxygen-plasma treated Pt surfaces elucidates the nanoscale physical, chemical and electrical properties of the Pt-oxide ultra-thin-film formed on the Pt thin-film surface by the plasma treatment. The data also reveal that the oxygen-plasma results in a rapid initial formation of the Pt-oxide ultra-thin-film, followed by a steady-state regime of concurrent Pt-oxide etching and re-formation.; Lastly, a novel method for directly fabricating ultra-flat, high-purity carbon thin-film surfaces is demonstrated using direct carbon evaporation onto ultra-flat silicon substrates. Experimental characterization elucidates the nanoscale physical structure and chemical properties of the organic thin-film surfaces, and nano-patterning of the thin-film surfaces is also presented.; In the thesis conclusions, a variety of nanoscale research and device applications for the studied thin-film surfaces are considered. Both presently ongoing and potential future applications are discussed, along with avenues for further research into ultra-flat thin-film fabrication characterization.