Surface Characterization Laboratory
Surface Characterization Laboratory
Location
Hill Hall 310 & CoorsTek 040
Contact
Alex Dixon – agdixon@mines.edu
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Facility Details
The Surface Characterization Lab houses an AFM, SEM, UV-VIS spectroscopy system, and profilometer, as well as probe station for electrical measurements.
EQUIPMENT
DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS AFM
The Digital Instruments Atomic Force Microscope is a high-resolution scanning probe microscope with sub-nanometer vertical resolution and sub-micron horizontal resolution. The system uses a sharp tip on the edge of a cantilever to scan a samples surface and record fluctuations. It can be used to characterize surface roughness, grain boundaries, lithographic structures, and polymeric materials.
4-PROBE ELECTRICAL PROBE STATION
The probe station measures the electrical properties of semiconductor samples under an optical microscope. With 4 micropositioner probes and an adjustable connection to a Keithley sourcemeter, a curve tracer, and a capacitance bridge, one can measure the electrical properties of microfabricated devices.
PHENOM SEM
The Phenom Scanning Electron Microscope is a tabletop SEM which features combined optical- electron images for easy sample navigation. It is designed for ease of use and rapid sample loading. It can achieve up to 100,000 X magnification with resolution down to 15nm.
PROFILOMETER
The D-600 stylus profilometer is an instrument used to measure a surface’s profile to quantify its roughness and step heights. The D-600 profilometer can measure fluctuations in surface profile from 1200um down to the nanometer scale.
HALL SYSTEM
The HL5500PC is a high-performance Hall Effect Measurement System. It enables measurement of resistivity, carrier concentration and mobility on a wide range of semiconductors and with minimum effort in sample preparation. The HL5500PC is designed as a modular system and the basic instrument can measure sheet resistivity’s up to a few MOhm/square and Hall voltages of a few µV. Samples can have Van der Pauw, bar or bridge shaped geometries, and dual temperature measurements (at room temperature and 77 K) are readily achievable.
- Thickness should be less than 1/15 of the peripheral length (less than 1mm), and uniform to ±1%.
- Sheet resistivity’s of 0.1 mΩ/square to in excess of 1 MΩ/square
- Optional to extend sheet resistivity measurements to 1011Ω/square
- Max Measurement Diameter: 25 mm
- Magnet: Permanent with field reversal by magnet rotation
- Support for van der Pauw, Hall bar and bridge samples
- Integration, delay & repeat measurement modes increase flexibility and accuracy on difficult to measure samples
- Easy to export data and information
UV-VIS SPECTROMETER
The CARY 5G is a high-performance UV-VIS and NIR spectrophotometer, with a 175-3300 nm range. Ideal for measuring the absorption profiles of thin film materials.
OPTICAL MICROSCOPE
The lab also contains an optical microscope with backlighting and 5X- 100X magnification.