A Scanning Microwave Microscopy Study of FIB-Induced Local S11 Response Changes in InGaAs/InP and HfO2/InGaAs/InP Heterostructures
Abstract
In this work, scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) is used to monitor the evolution of the local microwave response, in terms of variations in the S11 input reflection coefficient, in two III–V heterostructures relevant to mid-infrared photonics, namely a 150 nm thick heavily doped InGaAs layer on InP and HfO2 (35 nm)/InGaAs (150 nm)/InP, subjected to Ga+ FIB milling over a broad dose range. By correlating raw, uncalibrated two-dimensional S11 maps with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy, we observe a dose-dependent evolution from implantation-dominated behavior to progressive amorphization, layer thinning and surface roughening. In the uncapped InGaAs/InP system, the SMM response varies monotonically with ion dose, consistent with progressive FIB-induced modification of the exposed InGaAs layer and, at larger milling depths, of the underlying InP substrate. In the HfO2-capped structure, the microwave response is more complex: the oxide initially acts as a partial buffer against ion penetration, delaying damage transfer, but this effect progressively weakens as the cap is thinned and structurally degraded. The resulting S11 contrast may reflect the combined effects of FIB-induced structural modifications, layer removal, local material composition, and surface morphology. Overall, the combined dataset indicates that SMM is a potentially highly sensitive probe of FIB-induced nanoscale modifications in the local microwave response, especially at low doses, provided that suitable on-chip calibration and de-embedding structures are available.
Related
- Sub-diffraction-resolved spatial distribution of emitting excitons in scanning tunneling microscopy-induced luminescence of two-dimensional semiconductors via Richardson-Lucy deconvolution
- Excitonic Stark Response Induced by Quantum Capacitance in van der Waals Heterostructures
- Enhanced nanometer-scale linewidth metrology using dark-field through-focus scanning optical microscopy
- Parametrized Relativistic Quantum Theory: Framework and Application to Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
- Scanning through space and time: past, present, and future of time-resolved scanning transmission soft X-ray microscopy
BibTeX
@article{polito2026scanning,
title = {{A Scanning Microwave Microscopy Study of FIB-Induced Local S11 Response Changes in InGaAs/InP and HfO2/InGaAs/InP Heterostructures}},
author = {Raffaella Polito and Valentina Mussi and Andrea Notargiacomo and Adel Bousseksou and Gregoire Beaudoin and Isabelle Sagnes and Daniele de Felicis and Antonio Valletta and Francesco Mattioli and Edoardo Bemporad and Raffaele Colombelli and Michele Ortolani and Cristian Ciracì and Valeria Giliberti and Marialilia Pea},
journal = {Nanomaterials},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.3390/nano16161042},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05842422v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A Scanning Microwave Microscopy Study of FIB-Induced Local S11 Response Changes in InGaAs/InP and HfO2/InGaAs/InP Heterostructures
AU - Raffaella Polito
AU - Valentina Mussi
AU - Andrea Notargiacomo
AU - Adel Bousseksou
AU - Gregoire Beaudoin
AU - Isabelle Sagnes
AU - Daniele de Felicis
AU - Antonio Valletta
AU - Francesco Mattioli
AU - Edoardo Bemporad
AU - Raffaele Colombelli
AU - Michele Ortolani
AU - Cristian Ciracì
AU - Valeria Giliberti
AU - Marialilia Pea
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/21
JO - Nanomaterials
DO - 10.3390/nano16161042
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05842422v1
AB - In this work, scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) is used to monitor the evolution of the local microwave response, in terms of variations in the S11 input reflection coefficient, in two III–V heterostructures relevant to mid-infrared photonics, namely a 150 nm thick heavily doped InGaAs layer on InP and HfO2 (35 nm)/InGaAs (150 nm)/InP, subjected to Ga+ FIB milling over a broad dose range. By correlating raw, uncalibrated two-dimensional S11 maps with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy, we observe a dose-dependent evolution from implantation-dominated behavior to progressive amorphization, layer thinning and surface roughening. In the uncapped InGaAs/InP system, the SMM response varies monotonically with ion dose, consistent with progressive FIB-induced modification of the exposed InGaAs layer and, at larger milling depths, of the underlying InP substrate. In the HfO2-capped structure, the microwave response is more complex: the oxide initially acts as a partial buffer against ion penetration, delaying damage transfer, but this effect progressively weakens as the cap is thinned and structurally degraded. The resulting S11 contrast may reflect the combined effects of FIB-induced structural modifications, layer removal, local material composition, and surface morphology. Overall, the combined dataset indicates that SMM is a potentially highly sensitive probe of FIB-induced nanoscale modifications in the local microwave response, especially at low doses, provided that suitable on-chip calibration and de-embedding structures are available.
SN - 2079-4991
SN - 2079-4991
ER -