Amorphous and polycrystalline materials show different electrical properties when the contact area is in the submicron range. A large number of instruments (such as combinations of scanning electron microscope and scanning tunneling microscope) have been employed for such an investigation. A distinct disadvantage of these instruments is that they are rather expensive. In view of this, we have developed an instrumentation, which can be used to measure electrical behavior of any material in the submicron scale. This was achieved by installing a simple tip-holding arm in the scanning electron microscope; electrical meters (picoammeter and an LCR bridge) were used to investigate the behavior. We have studied amorphous carbon films grown in our laboratory, using this technique.
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September 2001
Research Article|
September 01 2001
A technique to investigate inhomogeneity in materials: An arrangement of microtip and scanning electron microscope
S. Paul;
S. Paul
Emerging Technologies Research Centre, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, United Kingdom
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F. J Clough
F. J Clough
Emerging Technologies Research Centre, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, United Kingdom
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Rev. Sci. Instrum. 72, 3543–3545 (2001)
Article history
Received:
December 27 2000
Accepted:
June 11 2001
Citation
S. Paul, F. J Clough; A technique to investigate inhomogeneity in materials: An arrangement of microtip and scanning electron microscope. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1 September 2001; 72 (9): 3543–3545. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1389490
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