QUANTITATIVE TOPOGRAPHIC IMAGING USING A NEAR-FIELD SCANNING MICROWAVE MICROSCOPE

We describe a technique for extracting topographic information using a scanning near-field microwave microscope. By monitoring the shift of the system's resonant frequency, we obtain quantitative topographic im ages of uniformly conducting metal surfaces. At a frequency of 9.572 G Hz, our technique allows a height discrimination of about 55 nm at a s eparation of 30 mu m. We present topographic images of uneven, conduct ing samples and compare the height response and sensitivity of the sys tem with theoretical expectations. (C) 1998 American Institute of Phys ics. [S0003-6951(98)00314-3].