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We have designed a gripper for scanning microwave microscopy based on atomic force microscopy, which is optimized for impedance-matching structures and high-frequency microwave losses. The gripper is simple in structure and highly integrated. The return loss near the target operating frequency of 20 GHz is less than -30 dB, with a good -3 dB bandwidth. The minimum detected power can reach -40 dBm with a power resolution of the order of nW. Microwave scanning image of the sample surface structure was experimentally tested, showing that the gripper can be applied to microwave scanning imaging. The research results have contributed to the development of scanning microwave microscopy.

With the rapid development of semiconductor chip circuit integration and miniaturization, especially the high integration of microwave chips, it has become critical to realize the surface microwave field imaging for such chips. In this paper, a new method of microwave field imaging for chip surface is proposed based on scanning probe microscopy. We analyse the echo signal and extract the peak-to-peak values to characterize the microwave field intensity on the chip surface by building a theoretical model of the microwave signal coupling. Using a high-precision scanning stage based on a piezoelectric ceramic tube, we realize the imaging of microwave field. The experimental results show that the imaging method can complete the chip surface microwave field imaging, which is important to support the optimization of semiconductor chip manufacturing process, fault analysis and new material research, and promote the development and progress of the semiconductor industry.

In the field of materials research, scanning microwave microscopy imaging has already become a vital research tool due to its high sensitivity and nondestructive testing of samples. In this article, we review the main theoretical and fundamental components of microwave imaging, in addition to the wide range of applications of microwave imaging. Rather than the indirect determination of material properties by measuring dielectric constants and conductivity, microwave microscopy now permits the direct investigation of semiconductor devices, electromagnetic fields, and ferroelectric domains. This paper reviews recent advances in scanning microwave microscopy in the areas of resolution and operating frequency and presents a discussion of possible future industrial and academic applications.