Improvement of spatial resolution by tilt correction in near-field scanning microwave microscopy

The limitation of mechanical manufacturing will result in a small tilt angle of the sample stage in the horizontal direction, which decreases the spatial resolution of imaging in near-field scanning microwave microscopy (NSMM). In this paper, we focus on the tilt correction and improve the spatial resolution of the NSMM image. The results of electromagnetic simulation and line scan measurement demonstrate the critical parameters affecting the sensitivity of NSMM, such as the length of the probe extending out of the cavity, the tip–sample distance, and the tip apex size. The tilt images can rotate successfully to the horizontal plane with the tilt correction methods, and the local average and re-interpolation are applied to denoise the images. Experimental NSMM images of copper thin film grid, coin texture, lithography mask, and leaf vein are obtained. The images before and after correction verify the improvement of the spatial resolution with all the above methods.