Agilent
Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that its Scanning Microwave
Microscopy Mode (SMM Mode) has been named one of 10 2009 Prism Award winners
by judges from SPIE and the advisory board of Laurin Publishing's Photonics
Spectra magazine.
SMM Mode was officially recognized for outstanding photonics innovation in
the category of "Analytical, Test, and Measurement" at a special ceremony
during SPIE Photonics West. SMM Mode previously was named an R&D 100 Award
winner by an independent judging panel and the editors of R&D Magazine.
Agilent developed SMM Mode to enable high-resolution, quantitative electromagnetic
materials characterization using the company's popular 5420 and 5600LS atomic
force microscopes.
"We are honored to receive both the R&D 100 and Prism Awards for SMM
Mode," said Jeff Jones, operations manager for Agilent's nanoinstrumentation
facility in Chandler, Ariz. "By combining the calibrated electrical measurement
capabilities of a microwave vector network analyzer with the nanoscale spatial
resolution of an atomic force microscope (AFM), this unique technology not only
offers a leading-edge tool for the evaluation of semiconductor materials, but
also for applications in biological and materials research."
Data from representative samples demonstrate that Agilent SMM Mode is capable
of mapping material properties at a resolution ultimately limited by the sharpness
of the AFM probe. Robust electromagnetic environment compatibility elements,
and built-in precision electronic components, allow SMM Mode to provide calibrated,
and more sensitive measurements than those attainable with previously available
AFM-based electrical characterization techniques.
Agilent SMM Mode can be used on semiconductors (no oxide-layer required), metals,
dielectric materials, ferroelectric materials, insulators and biological materials.
SMM Mode measures properties associated with small variations in the electromagnetic
interactions of a sample's different components with the incident microwave
signal, either statically or dynamically.
Posted February 8th, 2010
