Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, QC H3A 0C3, Canada.
Nanotechnology. 2017 Aug 25;28(34):345702. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/aa79ea. Epub 2017 Jun 15.
In this paper, we investigate the impact of vacuum chamber conditions (cleanliness level and vacuum pressure) and imaging parameters (magnification and acceleration voltage) of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on the contact resistance of two-point in situ nanoprobing of nanomaterials. Using two typical types of conductive nanoprobe, two-point nanoprobing is performed on silicon nanowires, during which changing trends of the nanoprobing contact resistance with the SEM chamber conditions and imaging parameters are quantified. The mechanisms underlying the experimental observations are also explained. Through systematically adjusting the experimental parameters, the probe-sample contact resistance is significantly reduced from the mega-ohm level to the kilo-ohm level. The experimental results can serve as a guideline to evaluate electrical contacts of nanoprobing and instruct how to reduce the contact resistance in SEM-based, two-point nanoprobing.
在本文中，我们研究了扫描电子显微镜（SEM）的真空室条件（清洁度水平和真空压力）和成像参数（放大倍数和加速电压）对原位两点纳米探测纳米材料接触电阻的影响。使用两种典型类型的导电纳米探针，在硅纳米线上进行了两点纳米探测，其中定量了纳米探测接触电阻随 SEM 室条件和成像参数的变化趋势。实验观察的机制也得到了解释。通过系统地调整实验参数，探针-样品接触电阻从兆欧级显著降低到千欧级。实验结果可作为评估纳米探测电接触的指南，并指导如何在基于 SEM 的两点纳米探测中降低接触电阻。
