UC San Diego

This thesis describes my efforts to construct and improve a room temperature microwave impedance microscope (MIM) for characterization of 2D materials. Three separate MIM circuits were built for operation in different frequency ranges and alternately integrated with a tabletop atomic force microscope. The 1 GHz circuit did not yield reasonable MIM data despite concentrated troubleshooting, but the MHz and 2-10 GHz circuits were validated and improvements to the hardware and scanning software reduced signal noise and increased system reliability. Metallic thin films, exfoliated van der Waals materials, and doped semiconductor samples were imaged to demonstrate spatial mapping of conductivity and dopant concentration.