Neutral atom scattering based mapping of atomically thin layers

Abstract

Imaging surfaces using low energy neutral atom scattering is a relatively recent development in the field of microscopy. In this work we demonstrate that this technique is sensitive enough to distinguish films as thin as a single monolayer from the underlying substrate. Using collimated beams of He and Kr atoms as an incident probe on MoS${}_2$ films grown on SiO${}_2$/Si substrate, we observe systematic changes in the scattered atom flux which allows us to map the thin MoS${}_2$ films. Measurements carried out by varying incidence energy using both He and Kr provides insights into the details of atom-surface collision dynamics and its role in contrast generation.

17 pages, 14 figures (main text + appendix). Changes from previous version: The discussion section has been updated to account for different possible outcomes of He scattering with surfaces

References in corpus (1)

• Anomalous Lattice Vibrations of Single and Few-Layer MoS2

Cited by in corpus (4)

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• 3D surface profilometry using neutral helium atoms
• Contrast inversion in neutral atom microscopy using atomic cluster beams
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