GaN nanorods were grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy HVPE) through a self-assemble process. The nanorods were grown at high growth rate, with the c-axis maintained perpendicular to the substrate surface. The dependence of rod diameter and density on growth conditions was systematically investigated. The average diameter was minimized to 80-120 nm and the density of the GaN nanorods was 100×1012 rods/m2.

Polycrystalline Al/Sc multilayer samples are grown via magnetron sputtering. The deposition of Sc onto Al results in significant intermixing between the two components. Substrate curvature, measured in-situ during deposition, reveals behavior similar to that seen in other systems where a slow diffuser is deposited onto a fast diffuser. The multilayer films are further characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), analytical electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), confirming the intermixing and formation of a coherent crystalline phase, likely to be Al3Sc, in the interfacial regions. Nanoindentation hardness tests show that by adding a few percent of Sc to Al films and carefully controlling the location of the Sc, increases in hardness up to 6 times that of a pure Al film can be obtained.

The catalytic properties of nanostructured gold catalyst are known to depend on the size of the gold particles and to be activated when the size decreases to a few nanometers. We investigated the size dependence of the three-dimensional nanostructure on the mean inner potential of gold catalysts supported on titanium oxide using electron holography and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). The contact angle of the gold particles on the titanium oxide tended to be over 90° for gold particles with a size of over 5 nm, and below 90° for a size of below 2 nm. This decreasing change in the contact angle (morphology) acts to increase the perimeter and hence the area of the interface between the gold and titanium oxide support, which is considered to be an active site for CO oxidation. The mean inner potential of the gold particles also changed as their size decreased. The value of the inner potential of gold, which is approximately 25 V in bulk state, rose to over 40 V when the size of the gold particles was less than 2 nm. This phenomenon indicates the existence of a charge transfer at the interface between gold and titanium oxide. The 3-D structure change and the inner potential change should be attributed to the specific electronic structure at the interface, owing to both the “nano size effect” and the “hetero-interface effect.”

Surface potentials of a number of patterned conducting and insulating self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were measured by scanning surface potential microscopy (SSPM) as part of a study in molecular electronics. Differences in surface potential were measured for insulating and conducting molecule SAMs on gold. The SAMs were patterned by microcontact printing. High contrast patterns were observed by surface potential even when little imaging was possible in standard AFM modes. Surface potential differences of a few mV to 500 mV were observed under ambient conditions between adjacent SAMs of different compositions or between SAMs and the unmodified substrate.