ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPE BASED KELVIN MEASUREMENTS - APPLICATION TO ANELECTROCHEMICAL REACTION

An atomic force microscope (AFM) was utilized as a Kelvin probe to det ermine work functions of several metals and semiconductors quantitativ ely. Most of the experimental data show excellent agreement with publi shed values measured by photoemission, Variations in work functions as low as 5 mV could be detected with a typical lateral resolution of 20 nm. This method allowed us to analyze and explain the energetics of a n electrochemical reaction on the surface of WSe2, which could be in s itu induced and controlled by an externally applied voltage between AF M tip and sample. Thus it could be exploited for etching nanostructure s.