Non-contact local conductivity measurement of metallic nanowires based on semi-near-field reflection of microwave atomic force microscopy

In this study, a non-contact and quantitative evaluation method was developed to measure the conductivity of metallic nanowires at nanometer-scale resolution. Using a coaxial probe, microwave images and topographical images were simultaneously obtained for three nanowires via microwave atomic force microscopy (M-AFM). A semi-near-field model was established to describe the distribution of the electric field between the probe and the sample. Based on this model, the local conductivities of metallic nanowires on the nanometer scale were quantitatively evaluated in a single scan, using a metal strip substrate to calibrate the reflected signal.

Automated summary

A new method was developed in this study to quantitatively evaluate the conductivity of metallic nanowires at nanometer scale using microwave atomic force microscopy. By establishing a semi-near-field model and utilizing a metal strip substrate for calibration, the local conductivities of nanowires were measured in a single scan.