A Preparation Method for Atomically Clean Sapphire Surfaces and High Resolution Topographic Method for Their Imaging by Non-Contact Atomic Force Microscopy

抄録

We sought to establish a method for preparing an atomically clean surface of sapphire (Al₂O₃(0001)) using non-contact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM). Repeated iterations of Ar⁺ sputtering and annealing are generally required to prepare a clean surface of TiO₂(110) or other metal oxides. In the case of Al₂O₃(0001), however, we were able to achieve a periodic pattern of the Al₂O₃(0001) \sqrt{31} × \sqrt{31} surface using only one iteration of sputtering and annealing. We also succeeded in resolving single atoms of the \sqrt{31} × \sqrt{31} unit cell of the Al₂O₃(0001) in topographic mode imaging.