High-Resolution Capacitance Measurement By Force Microscopy: Application To Sample Characterization And Potentiometry

David W Abraham; Yves Martin; Kumar Wiekramasinghe

doi:10.1117/12.944546

12 July 1988 High-Resolution Capacitance Measurement By Force Microscopy: Application To Sample Characterization And Potentiometry

David W Abraham, Yves Martin, Kumar Wiekramasinghe

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 0897, Scanning Microscopy Technologies and Applications; (1988) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.944546
Event: 1988 Los Angeles Symposium: O-E/LASE '88, 1988, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

We demonstrate the usefulness and high sensitivity of the atomic force microscope (AFM) for imaging surface dielectric properties and for potentiometry through the detection of electrostatic forces. The attractive force with an applied voltage between tip and sample is generally much larger than the van der Waals force. On the other hand, electric forces as small as 10^-10N have been measured, corresponding to a capacitance of 10^-19farad. The sensitivity of our AFM should ultimately allow us to detect capacitances as low as 8 x 10^-22farad. We have used this technique to detect the presence of dielectric material over Si, and have made measure-ments of the voltage over a p-n junction with sub-micron spatial resolution.

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David W Abraham, Yves Martin, and Kumar Wiekramasinghe "High-Resolution Capacitance Measurement By Force Microscopy: Application To Sample Characterization And Potentiometry", Proc. SPIE 0897, Scanning Microscopy Technologies and Applications, (12 July 1988); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.944546

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