Scanning tunneling microscopy of chromium-filled carbon nanotubes: Tip effects and related topographic features

Abstract

We have used ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to study chromium (Cr)-filled carbon nanotubes. STM micrographs show filled tubes to be less than 1 nm in height, while transmission electron microscopy indicates that Cr-filled naotubes are multiwalled with diameters generally over 10 nm. In this paper, we demonstrate that the small apparent heights are due to the STM tip status, which also accounts for the topographic anomalies observed.