Investigating the impact of SEM chamber conditions and imaging parameters on contact resistance of in situ nanoprobing

In this paper, we investigate the impact of vacuum chamber conditions (cleanliness level and vacuum pressure) and imaging parameters (magnification and acceleration voltage) of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on the contact resistance of two-point in situ nanoprobing of nanomaterials. Using two typical types of conductive nanoprobe, two-point nanoprobing is performed on silicon nanowires, during which changing trends of the nanoprobing contact resistance with the SEM chamber conditions and imaging parameters are quantified. The mechanisms underlying the experimental observations are also explained. Through systematically adjusting the experimental parameters, the probe-sample contact resistance is significantly reduced from the mega-ohm level to the kilo-ohm level. The experimental results can serve as a guideline to evaluate electrical contacts of nanoprobing and instruct how to reduce the contact resistance in SEM-based, two-point nanoprobing.