CHAPTER 3
 RESULTS

 3.1 Atomic Force Microscopy

3.1.1 Sample 1 Unetched Gallium Arsenide with Gold Stars

 Sample 1 is gallium arsenide with gold stars that has not been etched. It is

representative of Samples 2 and 3 prior to etching and will be used as a basis for

comparison. Line scans were taken through twenty points of the edge of the star to

obtain an average star height. The average height is 12.55nm. Figure 15a shows an

AFM image of Sample 1 unetched. There is a line drawn in where one of the twenty line

scans was taken. In Figure 15b is the plot of the height from that line scan.

 In Z-range: 131.9 nm
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 204166 20430 2C4
 a) X-range: 30 [p mI

Figure 15. AFM image and line scan plot of sample 1 unetched. a) This is an AFM
image of sample 1 unetched. The line drawn on the image represents the location of a
line scan. b) The plot shown represents the change in height as the AFM tip scans the
line drawn in on the AFM image in Figure 15a of sample 1 unetched. Note the relative
smoothness of the scanned surface.