Characterizing Non-Linear Microwave Behavior of Semiconductor Materials with Scanning Microwave Impedance Microscopy

As semiconductor technology advances, it can benefit from characterization of more complex materials with smaller geometries. Scanning Microwave Impedance Microscopy, sMIM, provides such with its measurements of the real and imaginary components of a sample's microwave impedance as seen by the tip of an atomic force microscope. sMIM can image capacitance C and its variation with bias, C-V, a non-linear property. With such images to navigate, sMIM can measure C as a function of bias at chosen locations. Images and measurements can be made for a broad range materials, from un-doped to highly doped. C-V curves from two microelectronic samples are shown below.