Johnson-noise-limited cancellation-free microwave impedance microscopy with monolithic silicon cantilever probes
Abstract: Microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) is an emerging scanning probe technique for nanoscale complex permittivity mapping and has made significant impacts in diverse fields from semiconductors to quantum materials. To date, the most significant hurdles that limit its widespread use are the requirements of specialized microwave probes and high-precision cancellation circuits. Here we show that forgoing both elements not only is feasible but actually enhances MIM performance. Using monolithic silicon cantilever probes and a cancellation-free architecture, we demonstrate thermal Johnson-noise-limited, drift-free MIM operation with 15 nm spatial resolution, minimal topography crosstalk, and an unprecedented sensitivity of 0.26 zF/$\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$. We accomplish this by taking advantage of the high mechanical resonant frequency and spatial resolution of silicon probes, the inherent common-mode phase noise rejection of self-referenced homodyne detection, and the exceptional stability of the streamlined architecture. Our approach makes MIM drastically more accessible and paves the way for more advanced operation modes and integration with complementary techniques.
- M. E. Barber, E. Y. Ma, and Z.-X. Shen, Microwave impedance microscopy and its application to quantum materials, Nat. Rev. Phys. 4, 61 (2022).
- S. Berweger, T. M. Wallis, and P. Kabos, Nanoelectronic characterization: Using near-field microwave microscopy for nanotechnological research, IEEE Microw. Mag. 21, 36 (2020).
- Y. Martin and H. K. Wickramasinghe, Magnetic imaging by “force microscopy”with 1000 å resolution, Appl. Phys. Lett. 50, 1455 (1987).
- U. Rabe and W. Arnold, Acoustic microscopy by atomic force microscopy, Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 1493 (1994).
- Standard tapping mode AFM cantilever with Au overall coating, https://www.opustips.com/AFM-Tip-160AC-GG.
- J.-Y. Shan, A. Pierce, and E. Y. Ma, Universal signal scaling in microwave impedance microscopy, Appl. Phys. Lett. 121, 123507 (2022).
- J.-Y. Shan, N. Morrison, and E. Y. Ma, Circuit-level design principles for transmission-mode microwave impedance microscopy, Appl. Phys. Lett. 122, 123505 (2023a).
- Z. Chu, L. Zheng, and K. Lai, Microwave microscopy and its applications, Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 50, 105 (2020b).
- S. J. Goldman, Phase Noise Analysis in Radar Systems Using Personal Computers (Wiley, New York, 1989).
- E. Milotti, Amplitude to phase noise conversion in electronic circuits, Phys. Rev. E 57, 67 (1998).
- H. Haus and R. Adler, Optimum noise performance of linear amplifiers, Proc. IRE 46, 1517 (1958).
- T. Tran, D. Oliver, D. Thomson, and G. Bridges, “zeptofarad”(10−2121{}^{-21}start_FLOATSUPERSCRIPT - 21 end_FLOATSUPERSCRIPT F) resolution capacitance sensor for scanning capacitance microscopy, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 72, 2618 (2001).
- H. Dongmo, P. Hammond, and J. Weaver, Sub-zeptofarad sensitivity scanning capacitance microscopy sensor, in International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis, Vol. 33 (2007) p. 56.
- F. J. Giessibl, Afm’s path to atomic resolution, Mater. Today 8, 32 (2005).
- E. Y. Ma, Emerging Electronic States at Boundaries and Domain Walls in Quantum Materials, Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University (2016).
- Y. Cho, A. Kirihara, and T. Saeki, Scanning nonlinear dielectric microscope, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 2297 (1996).
- T. Ideue and Y. Iwasa, Symmetry breaking and nonlinear electric transport in van der waals nanostructures, Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys. 12, 201 (2021).
Paper Prompts
Sign up for free to create and run prompts on this paper using GPT-5.
Top Community Prompts
Collections
Sign up for free to add this paper to one or more collections.