On the use of electrostatic force microscopy as a quantitative subsurface characterization technique: A numerical study

We present a numerical study on the use of electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) as a non invasive subsurface characterization technique. We discuss the ability to resolve a buried object in a dielectric matrix considering two parameters: the detectability (i.e., signal superior to the noise) and the lateral resolution. The effects of the dielectric constant, thickness of the sample, and depth at which the object is buried are quantified. We show that the sensitivity reached in EFM permits to characterize subsurface objects in a dielectric matrix. We demonstrate that both lateral resolution and detectability decreases when the tip object distance increases. On the other hand, these two quantities increase with the dielectric constant of the matrix. A first step toward EFM tomography is proposed for objects creating non correlated signals. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3608161]