Nanoelectronic Characterization: Using Near-Field Microwave Microscopy for Nanotechnological Research

Abstract

The optical characterization of nanoscale objects is challenging due to the Abbe diffraction limit. This limit constrains the achievable spatial resolution of a conventional microscope using visible light to a 200 nm . 200 nm. The current era of nanotechnological research has been enabled by a host of experimental techniques that circumvent the diffraction limit. Since the Abbe limit scales proportional to the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, the diffraction limit acts even more unfavorably on longer wavelengths. At 10 GHz (l = 30 mm), the best achievable resolution is around 15 mm. Thus, while traditional microwave metrology enables precision broadband measurements, conventional measurement methods are insufficient to address the host of novel and exciting phenomena that arise in nanoscale systems.