Application of the scanning force microscope in structuring and in temperature-dependent analysis of Au nanostructures

The amplitudes of one-dimensional periodic profiles were analyzed as functions of annealing temperatures to determine surface diffusion constants and activation energies with high lateral resolution. The temperature dependence of the surface self-diffusion constant was derived for temperatures between 573 and 1073 K by Fourier analysis of the profiles. A temperature-dependent study of the surface of nanocrystalline Au revealed an increase in grain size with rising temperature and the ratio of free energy on the surface and at grain boundaries. (C) 1997 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-211X(97)13204-8].