Current-Limited Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 15, pp. 56365–56374

Abstract

Conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) has become the preferred tool of many companies and academics to analyze the electronic properties of materials and devices at the nanoscale. This technique scans the surface of a sample using an ultrasharp conductive nanoprobe so that the contact area between them is very small (<100 nm 2 ) and it can measure the properties of the sample with a very high lateral resolution. However, measuring relatively low currents (∼1 nA) in such small areas produces high current densities (∼1000 A/cm 2 ), which almost always results in fast nanoprobe degradation. That is not only expensive but also endangers the reliability of the data collected because detecting which data sets are affected by tip degradation can be complex. Here, we show an inexpensive long-sought solution for this problem by using a current limitation system. We test its performance by measuring the tunneling current across a reference ultrathin dielectric when applying ramped voltage stresses at hundreds of randomly selected locations of its surface, and we conclude that the use of a current limitation system increases the lifetime of the tips by a factor of ∼50. Our work contributes to significantly enhance the reliability of one of the most important characterization techniques in the field of nanoelectronics.

Authors 9

1. Jonas Weber

   King Abdullah University of Science and Technology · Universitat de Barcelona · Deggendorf Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Applied Physics, University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

   Department of Electrical Engineering and Media Technology, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany

   Materials Science and Engineering Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

2. Yue Jin Yuan

   King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Materials Science and Engineering Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

3. Sebastian Matias Pazos

   King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Materials Science and Engineering Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

4. Fabian Kühnel

   Universität der Bundeswehr München · Deggendorf Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical Engineering and Media Technology, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany

   Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany

5. Christoph Metzke

   Helmut Schmidt University · Deggendorf Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical Engineering and Media Technology, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany

   Department of Electrical Engineering, Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Holstenhofweg 85, 22043 Hamburg, Germany

6. Josef Schätz Aachen Chair of Electronic Devices

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Electronic Devices, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Straße 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Infineon Technologies AG, Wernerwerkstraße 2, 93049 Regensburg, Germany

7. Werner Frammelsberger

   Deggendorf Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany

8. Günther Benstetter

   Deggendorf Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical Engineering and Media Technology, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany

9. Mario Lanza corresponding

   King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Materials Science and Engineering Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia