<s>
The	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
is	O
an	O
electrical	O
probing	O
device	O
to	O
make	O
rapid	O
,	O
non-destructive	O
contact	O
to	O
a	O
sample	O
for	O
electrical	O
characterization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
primary	O
application	O
is	O
semiconductor	O
measurements	O
where	O
otherwise	O
time-consuming	O
metallizations	O
or	O
photolithographic	B-Algorithm
processing	O
are	O
required	O
to	O
make	O
contact	O
to	O
a	O
sample	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
applies	O
mercury	O
contacts	O
of	O
well-defined	O
areas	O
to	O
a	O
flat	O
sample	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
mercury-sample	O
contacts	O
and	O
the	O
instrumentation	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
define	O
the	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
is	O
a	O
versatile	O
tool	O
for	O
investigation	O
of	O
parameters	O
of	O
conducting	O
,	O
insulating	O
and	O
semiconductor	O
materials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
successful	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
applications	O
was	O
the	O
characterization	O
of	O
epitaxial	O
layers	O
grown	O
on	O
silicon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
critical	O
to	O
device	O
performance	O
to	O
monitor	O
the	O
doping	B-Algorithm
level	O
and	O
thickness	O
of	O
an	O
epitaxial	O
layer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
,	O
a	O
sample	O
had	O
to	O
undergo	O
a	O
metallization	O
process	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
take	O
hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
connected	O
to	O
capacitance-voltage	O
doping	B-Algorithm
profile	O
instrumentation	O
could	O
measure	O
an	O
epitaxial	O
layer	O
as	O
soon	O
as	O
it	O
came	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
epitaxial	O
reactor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
formed	O
a	O
Schottky	O
barrier	O
of	O
well-defined	O
area	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
measured	O
as	O
easily	O
as	O
a	O
conventional	O
metallized	O
contact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
application	O
popular	O
for	O
it	O
speed	O
is	O
oxide	O
characterization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
forms	O
a	O
gate	O
contact	O
and	O
enables	O
measurement	O
of	O
the	O
capacitance-voltage	O
or	O
current-voltage	O
parameters	O
of	O
the	O
mercury-oxide-semiconductor	O
structure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
this	O
device	O
,	O
material	O
parameters	O
such	O
as	O
permittivity	O
,	O
doping	B-Algorithm
,	O
oxide	O
charge	O
,	O
and	O
dielectric	O
strength	O
may	O
be	O
evaluated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
contact	O
area	O
of	O
a	O
mercury	O
droplet	O
resting	O
on	O
a	O
semiconductor	O
can	O
be	O
modified	O
by	O
electrowetting	B-General_Concept
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
accurate	O
parameter	O
extraction	O
may	O
need	O
to	O
take	O
this	O
effect	O
into	O
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
with	O
concentric	O
dot	O
and	O
ring	O
contacts	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
back	O
contact	O
extends	O
mercury	B-Algorithm
probe	I-Algorithm
applications	O
to	O
silicon	B-Algorithm
on	I-Algorithm
insulator	I-Algorithm
(	O
SOI	O
)	O
structures	O
,	O
where	O
a	O
pseudo-MOSFET	O
device	O
is	O
formed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
Hg-FET	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
study	O
mobility	O
,	O
interface	O
trap	O
density	O
,	O
and	O
transconductance	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Capacitance-voltage	O
measurements	O
allow	O
computation	O
of	O
the	O
semiconductor	B-Algorithm
doping	I-Algorithm
level	O
and	O
uniformity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
measurements	O
are	O
successfully	O
made	O
on	O
many	O
materials	O
including	O
SiC	O
,	O
GaAs	O
,	O
GaN	O
,	O
InP	B-Application
,	O
CdS	O
,	O
and	O
InSb	O
.	O
</s>
