Probe-Tip Holder LCMK
A low-noise, low-resistance probe-tip holder that turns a Kleindiek manipulator into a precision nanoprober — resolving currents down to 3 fA.
The floor is 3 femtoamps#
The LCMK-EM is a probe-tip holder built around one job: keeping the signal path clean enough to measure currents down to 3 fA at 1 Hz. Signal conductor resistance is held to 0.9 Ω and insulation leakage to 50 fA at 1 V, so the noise floor stays below the currents you are trying to resolve rather than swallowing them. The holder still handles up to 200 mA and 210 V when a measurement calls for it, and passes signal to 100 MHz.
From tip to any analyser#
A standard tungsten probe tip inserts into the front of the holder; triax cabling and vacuum feedthroughs then carry the signal out of the chamber to a connector that fits any conventional parameter analyser. That clean signal chain is what makes the LCMK-EM useful beyond simple resistance checks — failure analysis, qualification of high-κ gate materials, low-current transistor measurement, EBIC/RCI analysis, and electrical characterization of nanowires and ultra-thin films all depend on a signal that picks up nothing between the tip and the instrument. Your existing micromanipulator system — MM3A-EM or MM3E — can be quickly and easily upgraded for use with the LCMK-EM.
Gallery
Multiple probe holders converge on a device under test — a typical setup for multi-terminal transistor or failure-analysis measurements. 
Triax feedthroughs carry the signal out of the chamber to a standard parameter-analyser connector.
Technical data
Electrical
- Current measurement limit
- 3 fA @ 1 Hz
- Insulation leakage current
- 50 fA at 1 V
- Signal conductor resistance
- 0.9 Ω
- Maximum voltage
- 210 V
- Maximum current
- 200 mA
- Maximum frequency
- 100 MHz
Advantages
Built for femtoamp signals
- Signal conductor resistance held to 0.9 Ω
- Insulation leakage limited to 50 fA at 1 V
- Resolves currents down to 3 fA at 1 Hz
A clean path to any analyser
- Triax cabling and feedthroughs carry the signal out of the chamber
- Connector fits all conventional parameter analysers
- Accepts standard tungsten probe tips at the front
Suited to device-level electrical work
- Failure analysis and qualification of high-κ gate materials
- Low-current transistor measurement and EBIC/RCI analysis
- Electrical characterization of nanowires and ultra-thin films
Related publications
Exploring the conduction in atomic-sized metallic constrictions created by controlled ion etching
DOI 10.1088/0957-4484/19/41/415302Accurate electrical testing of individual gold nanowires by in situ scanning electron microscope nanomanipulators
DOI 10.1063/1.30054233D failure analysis in depth profiles of sequentially made FIB cuts
DOI 10.1016/j.microrel.2007.07.032Establishing Ohmic contacts for in situ current–voltage characteristic measurements on a carbon nanotube inside the scanning electron microscope
DOI 10.1088/0957-4484/17/4/041Performing probe experiments in the SEM
DOI 10.1016/j.micron.2003.12.005Application articles
EBIC — Electron-Beam-Induced Current
Mapping where a device collects beam-generated carriers, to image p–n junctions, depletion regions and recombination sites.
EBAC — Electron-Beam Absorbed Current
Tracing conductive paths and finding opens in interconnects, with no bias applied to the device.
RCI — Resistive Contrast Imaging
Two-contact current-division imaging that reveals the resistance distribution along a net.
EBIRCH — Electron-Beam-Induced Resistance Change
Biased, AC current imaging that lights up resistive and leaky defects as bright spots.
EBIV — Electron-Beam-Induced Voltage
Reading the beam-induced voltage to reach high-impedance and floating nodes that current maps miss.
Related products & accessories
EBIC Amplifier
A low-noise current amplifier that turns the electron beam into a defect-mapping tool — EBIC, EBAC, RCI, EBIRCH and EBIV from a single unit.
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MM3E
An encoded, closed-loop micromanipulator — define parking and working positions and recall them at the click of a button.
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MM3A-EM
The industry-standard spherical micromanipulator — the platform every Kleindiek plug-in tool attaches to, with 3000+ units in the field.
View productTalk to an application engineer
Tell us your sample and your microscope — we’ll walk you through the workflow and route you to the right regional team.