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Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Co-localizing Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy with Other Microscopies and Spectroscopies: Selected Applications in Corrosion Characterization of Alloys

Co-localizing Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy with Other Microscopies and Spectroscopies: Selected Applications in Corrosion Characterization of Alloys

Published on: June 27, 2022

Kelvin probe force microscopy for material characterization.

Thilo Glatzel¹, Urs Gysin¹, Ernst Meyer¹

¹Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, Basel 4056, Switzerland.

Microscopy (Oxford, England)

|March 11, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Kelvin probe force microscopy images surface potential, crucial for understanding electrical properties. This study analyzes a silicon device, detailing dopant profiling and photovoltage measurements.

Keywords:

AFM KPFM Kelvin probe force microscopy SPV surface potential

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Area of Science:

Surface science
Scanning probe microscopy
Materials characterization

Background:

Surface potential is a key property linked to work function, dipoles, and charges.
It provides insights into electrical characteristics and can be combined with excitation methods.
Understanding surface potential is vital for advanced materials analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and its operational principles.
To demonstrate KPFM for dopant profiling and surface photovoltage measurements on a silicon superjunction device.
To analyze the impact of charge accumulation on contact potential measurements.

Main Methods:

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) for surface potential imaging.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) principles.
Analysis of silicon superjunction devices.

Main Results:

Demonstrated KPFM for detailed dopant profiling.
Introduced surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements using KPFM.
Presented the influence of local charge accumulation on contact potential values.

Conclusions:

KPFM is a powerful technique for characterizing surface electrical properties.
The study highlights KPFM's utility in analyzing semiconductor devices.
Understanding charge accumulation effects is critical for accurate KPFM interpretation.