A Framework for Broadband Characterization of Individual Nanowires

A framework for broadband characterization of individual nanowires (NWs) is discussed in this letter. Specifically, on-wafer multiline thru-reflect-line (TRL) measurements, finite element modeling, and specially fabricated test structures with both extremely high and low impedances are jointly used to validate the feasibility of both measurements and modeling for characterizing small components. The test structures are designed as coplanar waveguide (CPW) devices with 100 nm and 250 nm diameter platinum (Pt) NWs. Though it is not possible to distinguish between the conductivity of the wire and contact resistances, we determine a range for conductivity and contact resistance over wide microwave bandwidth by minimizing the standard deviation between the measurements and full-wave modeling.