An Ultrafast Tunneling Sampler for Atomic-Resolution, High-Speed Electronic Measurements.

Abstract

A non-contact probe has been invented and developed for time resolved measurement of electrical waveforms with features as fast as one picosecond. The technique is based on atomic force microscopy modified for electrical sampling. Two generations of probe heads were designed, built, and tested. The fundamental limits of the system, including spatial, temporal, and voltage resolution, have been investigated. State of the art integrated circuits from Intel and National Semiconductor were tested with nanosecond resolution to show that the instrument has potential industrial application. U.S. Patents 5,381,101 and 5,488,305 were granted to Stanford University and licensed to industry. A GaAs nonlinear transmission line was monolithically integrated with a specially designed high speed cantilever and used to probe transients less than one picosecond in duration. Harmonic mixing frequencies as high as 333 GHz were measured.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA309676

Entities

People

  • A. S. Hou
  • B. A. Nechay
  • D. M. Bloom
  • F. Ho

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ceramic Materials
  • Clocks
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Electronics Industry
  • Electronics Laboratories
  • Frequency
  • Gallium Arsenides
  • Integrated Circuits
  • Lasers
  • Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits
  • Nonlinear Transmission Lines
  • Optical Detection
  • Picosecond Time
  • Repetition Rate
  • Semiconductors
  • Transmission Lines

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Research Science/Academic Research

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics