Quantitative impedance characterization of sub-10 nm scale capacitors and tunnel junctions with an interferometric scanning microwave microscope

Fei Wang (1) , Nicolas Clément (1) , Damien Ducatteau (1) , David Troadec (1) , Hassan Tanbakuchi (2) , Bernard Legrand (1, 3) , Gilles Dambrine (1) , Didier Theron (1)

1 IEMN - Institut d’Électronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie - UMR 8520
2 Agilent Technologies
3 LAAS-MEMS - Équipe Microsystèmes électromécaniques

We present a method to characterize sub-10 nm capacitors and tunnel junctions by interferometric scanning microwave microscopy (iSMM) at 7.8 GHz. At such device scaling, the small water meniscus surrounding the iSMM tip should be reduced by proper tip tuning. Quantitative impedance characterization of attofarad range capacitors is achieved using an 'on-chip' calibration kit facing thousands of nanodevices. Nanoscale capacitors and tunnel barriers were detected through variations in the amplitude and phase of the reflected microwave signal, respectively. This study promises quantitative impedance characterization of a wide range of emerging functional nanoscale devices.

Domaines: Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

Fei Wang, Nicolas Clément, Damien Ducatteau, David Troadec, Hassan Tanbakuchi, et al.. Quantitative impedance characterization of sub-10 nm scale capacitors and tunnel junctions with an interferometric scanning microwave microscope. Nanotechnology, 2014, 25 (40), pp.405703. ⟨10.1088/0957-4484/25/40/405704⟩. ⟨hal-01960609⟩