This article describes the details of scanning probe microscopy measurements of interfacial friction from an experimental perspective. In such studies, the probe tip is taken as a model of a single asperity within a tribological contact, and interfacial forces are measured as a function of the sliding contact of the probe tip with the surface. With appropriate detection schemes, friction and load forces can be monitored simultaneously and used together to describe the frictional properties of the microscopic contact. This article provides a detailed description of the procedures and protocols of friction measurements performed with scanning probe microscopy, the relevant properties of probe tips, and the influence of environment on microscopic friction measurements. In addition, the article provides a brief overview of several categories of friction studies performed with scanning probe microscopy, highlighting the type of materials characterized in these studies as well as the importance and impact of the microscopic measurements.

The use of multivariate data analysis combined with sensors with partially overlapping selectivities has become a very powerful tool in measurement technology. These systems are often referred to as artificial senses, because they function in a way similar to the human senses. One such system is the electronic nose. This article focuses on similar concepts as the electronic nose, but for use in aqueous solutions. Because these systems are related to the human sense of taste in the same way the electronic nose is related to olfaction, they have been termed taste sensors, or “electronic tongues.” Various measurement principles that can be used in electronic tongues are described and discussed in this article. These include electrochemical techniques such as potentiometry, voltammetry, and conductometry. Also, optical techniques based on light absorption at specific wavelengths or the use of surface plasmon resonance are described. Mass-sensitive devices based on piezoelectric crystals have also been used and are described here. A special emphasis is given to the voltammetric electronic tongue.

Nanotubular structures in the B-C-N ceramic system represent an intriguing alternative to conventional carbon nanotubes.Because of the ability to widely vary the chemical composition of nanotubes within the B-C-N ternary phase diagram and to change the stacking of C-rich or BN-rich tubular shells in multiwalled structures, a wide horizon opens up for tuning nanostructure electrical properties.Pure carbon nanotubes are metals or narrow-bandgap semiconductors, depending on the helicity and diameter, whereas those of BN are insulators with a ∼5.0eV gap independent of these parameters.Thus, the relative B/C/N ratios and/or BN-rich and C-rich domain spatial arrangements, rather than tube helicity and diameter, are assumed to primarily determine the B-C-N nanotube electrical response.This characteristic is highly valuable for nanotechnology:while tube diameter and helicity are currently difficult to control, continuous doping of C with BN, or vice versa, proceeds relatively easily due to the isostructural nature of layered C and BN materials.In this article, recent progress in the synthesis, microscopic analysis, and electrical property measurements of a variety of compound nanotubes in the ceramic B-C-N system is documented and discussed.

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is a well-developed deposition process that shows great promise for scaling up the production of high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) to quickly fabricate useful lengths of superconducting tapes and wires.The primary advantage of MOCVD is its potential for high tape throughput, a key factor in determining the cost of second-generation HTS tapes.This article details progress in long-length HTS tape fabrication, high-throughput processing, and techniques to improve critical current levels in high magnetic fields.

In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies allow one to determine the structure, chemistry, and kinetic behavior of solid–liquid (S–L) interfaces with subnanometer spatial resolution. This article illustrates some important contributions of in situ TEM to our understanding of S–L interfaces in Al-Si alloys and liquid In particles in Al and Fe matrices.Four main areas are discussed:ordering in the liquid at a S–L interface, compositional changes across the interface, the kinetics and mechanisms of interface migration, and the contact angles and equilibrium melting temperature of small particles.Results from these studies reveal that (1)partially ordered layers form in the liquid at a Si{111} S–L interface in an Al–Si alloy, (2)the crystalline and compositional changes occur simultaneously across an Al S–L interface, (3)the Al interface is diffuse and its growth can be followed at velocities of a fewnm/s at extremely low undercoolings, and (4)the melting temperature of In particles less than ~ 10 nm in diameter can be raised or lowered in Al or Fe, depending on the contact angle that the S–L interface makes at the three-phase junction. These results illustrate the benefits of in situ TEM for providing fundamental insight into the mechanisms that control the behavior of S–L interfaces in materials.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are emerging as an important new class of electronic materials. Both metallic and semiconducting SWNTs have electrical properties that rival or exceed the best metals or semiconductors known. In this article, we review recent transport and scanning probe experiments that investigate the electrical properties of SWNTs.We address the fundamental scattering mechanisms in SWNTs, both in linear response and at high bias.We also discuss the nature and properties of contacts to SWNTs. Finally, we discuss device performance issues and potential applications in electronics and sensing.

The process of heating and compressing wood to improve its properties or reform it to a new shape has been known for decades. Such improvements are usually accompanied by “shape memory,” where the deformation produced by compression is not permanent, and the material recovers when re-moistened and heated. The combination of densification and a thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) treatment can transform wood into a new material with improved mechanical properties, decreased sensitivity to moisture, increased durability, and no shape-memory effects. This article presents the principles of combined densification and THM processing, the products and experimental results, the origin of the shape-memory effect and its elimination by THM treatment, and the potential use of THM-processed densified wood in construction applications.

Recently, organic nonvolatile memory devices have attracted considerable attention due to their low cost and high performance. This article reviews recent developments in organic nonvolatile memory and describes in detail an organic electrical bistable device (OBD) that has potential for applications. The OBD consists of a tri-layer of organics/metal nanoclusters/organics sandwiched between top and bottom electrodes. A sufficiently high applied bias causes the metal nanoparticle layer to become polarized, resulting in charge storage near the two metal/organic interfaces. This stored charge lowers the resistance of the device and leads to an electrical switching behavior. The ON and OFF states of an OBD differ in their conductivity by several orders of magnitude and show remarkable bistability—once either state is reached, the device tends to remain in that state for a prolonged period of time. More important, the conductivity states of an OBD can be precisely controlled by the application of a positive voltage pulse (to write) or a negative voltage pulse (to erase). Device performance tests show that the OBD is a promising candidate for high-density, low-cost electrically addressable data storage applications.

Hybrid complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)/molecular memory devices are based on a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) architecture, are fast, have high density, and exhibit low power consumption. These devices use a well-characterized charge storage mechanism to store information based on the intrinsic properties of molecules attached to a CMOS platform. The molecules are designed in a rational way to have known electrical properties and can be incorporated into CMOS devices with only minor modification of existing fabrication methods. Each memory element contains a monolayer of molecules (typically 100,000–1,000,000) to store charge; this process yields a structure that has many times the charge density of a typical DRAM capacitor, obviating the necessity for a trench or stacked capacitor geometry. The magnitude of voltage required to remove each electron is quantized (typically a few hundred millivolts per state), making it much easier to put molecules in a known state and to detect that state with low-power operation. Existing devices have charge retention times that are >1000 times that of semiconductors, and nonvolatile strategies based on simple modifications of existing systems are possible. All of these devices are ultimately scalable to molecular dimensions and will enable the production of memory products as small as state-of-the-art lithography will allow.

Many processes in nature and technology are based on the static and dynamic properties of solid–liquid interfaces. Prominent examples are crystal growth, melting, and recrystallization. These processes are strongly affected by the local structure at the solid–liquid interface. Therefore, it is mandatory to understand the change in the structure across the interface. The break of the translational symmetry at the interface induces ordering phenomena, and interactions between the liquid's molecules and the atomically corrugated solid surface may induce additional ordering effects. In the past decade, new techniques have been developed to investigate the structural properties of such (deeply) buried interfaces in their natural environment. These methods are based on deeply penetrating probes such as brilliant x-ray beams, providing full access to the structure parallel and perpendicular to the interface. Here, we review the results of a number of case studies including liquid metals in contact with Group IV elements (diamond and silicon), where charge transfer effects at the interface may come into play. Another particularly important liquid in our environment is water. The structural properties of water vary widely as it is brought in contact with other materials. We will then proceed from these seemingly simple cases to complex fluids such as colloids.

Earth construction is the oldest and most universal architectural expression on our planet. The most ancient human settlements were built with raw earth, and even today at least 30% of the world's population still lives in earthen homes. The conservation of earthen architecture depends of two aspects of a global strategy. One part involves intervention to preserve existing structures, and the second involves continuing to use the construction methods and materials in contemporary and future building practices. Traditionally, earth construction has been approached in an empirical way. Only recently have those involved in the field felt it necessary to develop a specific materials research attitude. This has resulted in major technological progress over the last 20 years. The wide range of building systems emphasizes the technological diversity of earth construction. This article presents a historical perspective, along with a review of the characteristics of earth as a building material, stabilization processes, and construction methods, and a report on an ongoing research program aimed at identifying and characterizing the fundamental binding mechanisms responsible for cohesion properties in earthen construction.

High-temperature superconductors of the second generation—coated conductors—are based on an architecture of YBCO films deposited on a well-textured substrate tape. The deposition technique used in the processing of YBCO films is responsible not only for both the resulting critical currents in the conductors and the cost efficiency of the employed production route, but also for the ultimate viability of the chosen technology. This article describes an advanced deposition method for YBCO films using high-rate pulsed laser deposition (HR-PLD).An elaborate variable azimuth ablation allows target roughening to be considerably reduced in the course of continuous deposition, and as a result, the integral deposition speed and speed stability can be increased to technologically interesting high values.Well-selected process parameters have been demonstrated to yield high currents of up to 480A/cm-width in short tapes and 360A/cm-width in 6-m-long tapes.Together with quasi-equilibrium heating, the HR-PLD method allows the processing of long-length YBCO-coated conductors and offers a cost-efficient route for their production on an industrial scale.

By controlling the morphology of organic and inorganic semiconductors on a molecular scale, nanoscale p–n junctions can be generated in a bulk composite. Such a composite is typically called a bulk heterojunction composite, which can be considered as one virtual semiconductor combining the electrical and optical properties of the individual components. Solar cells are one attractive application for bulk heterojunction composites. Conjugated polymers or oligomers are the favorite p-type semiconducting class for these composites, while for the n-type semiconductor, inorganic nanoparticles as well as organic molecules have been investigated. Due to the solubility of the individual components, printing techniques are used to fabricate them.