We combine a scanning near-field microwave microscope with an atomic force microscope for use in localized thin film dielectric constant measurement, and demonstrate the capabilities of our system through simultaneous surface topography and microwave reflection measurements on a variety of thin films grown on low resistivity silicon substrates. Reflection measurements clearly discriminate the interface between approximately 38 nm silicon nitride and dioxide thin films at 1.788 GHz. Finite element simulation was used to extract the dielectric constants showing the dielectric sensitivity to be Deltaepsilon(r)=0.1 at epsilon(r)=6.2, for the case of silicon nitride. These results illustrate the capability of our instrument for quantitative dielectric constant measurement at microwave frequencies.
The authors propose and demonstrate a miniaturized quadraxial probe that employs a differential feed technique for use in near-field rf/microwave transmission microscopy. Their quadraxial probe’s electric field measurements show higher electric field localization than a conventional coaxial (monopole) probe. The improved spatial resolution and more sensitive phase measurement of the quadraxial probe versus coaxial probe are further validated by a metal line scan experiment.
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