Minute current detection during anodic oxidation by atomic force microscope at high humidity

The faradaic current during anodic oxidation has been detected using an atomic force microscope with intent to study the meniscus formation process and the oxidation mechanism. The faradaic current is of the order of pA for a Si sample, which is at the same level as the leakage current noise; there are problems in detecting, such as sensitivity limits and poor reproducibility. These problems occurred due to high humidity. We could overcome these problems by hermetically scaling the entire electronic parts in the unit to avoid the humidity effects and achieved the detection of a minute current of the sub-pA order even at high humidity.