Atomic Force Microscopy ‐ AFM

Abstract In the 15 years since its invention, the atomic force microscope and other scanning probe microscopies derived from it have become an irreplaceable tool for all manner of surface analysis. The first section of this review article explains how the core AFM techniques, contact‐, noncontact, and intermittent‐mode, work. This section also presents discussions on cantilevers, tip‐sample interactions, resolution limiters, and manufacturers. The second section explains several scanning‐probe techniques based of the AFM that are used for a variety of surface analyses. The variants discussed in this section are scanning capacitance microscopy, tunneling atomic force microscopy, scanning spreading resistance microscopy, lateral force microscopy, electric and magnetic force microscopy, Kelvin‐probe microscopy, force modulation microscopy, and scanning thermal microscopy. The final section demonstrates two applications of AFM‐like tools to the field of semiconductor device characterization. In the first example, a tapping‐mode AFM is used to study the formation of copper depositions on silicon. In the second example, a tunneling AFM is used to study the quality of gate oxides created with coppers contamination