Near Real-Time Monitoring of Thin-Film Materials and Their Interfaces Using Evanescent Microwave Probes
Abstract
In this report we discuss a novel and very high spatial resolution (0.4 micrometers at 1 GHz) scanning method using evanescent microwave probe (EMP) techniques. In the course of this study the usefulness of EMP as a material characterization tool was demonstrated. Here we discuss the electronic and mechanical design methodology of EMP. Several novel design improvements were investigated and their effect on increasing the stability and reproducibility, on increasing the scanning speed, on confining the field pattern to increase the probe's resolution, on improving the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) are discussed. Data acquisition, signal processing and image processing methods are a so described. In this work, the output of the probe was calibrated to be able to offer quantitative results. With the calibrated probe, a large variety of materials ranging from dielectrics, semiconductors, metals, to biological specimens were scanned and the results are presented. We also suggest several future works for improving the performance of the probe. This final report is self-contained and it draws from many studies conducted using the EMP imaging technique.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA365619
Entities
People
- Massood Tabib-Azar