WHITE

PA P E R

An Improved Method for

Differential Conductance Measurements
by Adam Daire

Introduction
As modern electronics continue to shrink, researchers are increasingly looking
to nanotechnology as the basis for the next breakthrough in device size and
power consumption. Indeed, as semiconductor structures are made smaller and
smaller, the distinction between small silicon geometries and large molecules
becomes blurred. Approached from either direction, the consequences are the
same. Quantum behavior such as tunneling begins to play an important role in
the electrical characteristics. In the macroscopic world, conductors may have
obeyed Ohm’s Law (Figure 1a), but in the nanoscale, Ohm’s definition of
resistance is no longer relevant (Figure 1b). Because the slope of the I-V curve
is no longer a fundamental constant of the material, a detailed measurement
of the slope of that I-V curve at every point is needed to study nanodevices.
This plot of differential conductance (dG = dI/dV) is the most important
measurement made on small scale devices, but presents a unique set of
challenges.

Figure 1a. Macroscopic scale Figure 1b. Nanoscale

(Classical) (Quantum)

Keithley Instruments, Inc.

28775 Aurora Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44139
(440) 248-0400
Fax: (440) 248-6168
www.keithley.com
A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
Who Uses Differential Conductance?
Differential conductance measurements are performed in many areas of research, though
sometimes under different names. When used to measure the electron energy structure of
small devices such as quantum dots, nanoparticles, or artificial atoms, it is sometimes referred
to as electron energy spectroscopy. When used to perform non-contact measurements on
surfaces within a scanning tunneling microscope, it may be called tunneling spectroscopy.
When studying ultra-small semiconductor structures or nanotubes with semiconducting
properties, it might be called a density of states measurement. Still other researchers refer
to it more mathematically, as the derivative of the I-V curve, or simply dI/dV or ΔG. It can
be used to understand conduction phenomenon in cryogenic environments or to observe
and predict the conditions when tunneling is more likely to occur. A few examples of the
device types that can be studied this way are Schottky diodes, tunnel diodes, and single-
electron transistors. The fundamental reason differential conductance is interesting is that the
conductance reaches a maximum at voltages (or more precisely, at electron energies in eV)
at which the electrons are most active. This explains the common use of the name energy
spectroscopy. This is also why dI/dV is directly proportional to the density of states and is
the most direct way to measure it.

Existing Methods of Performing Differential Conductance

While there is no standardized technique to obtain differential conductance, almost all
approaches have followed one of two methods:

(1) Perform a current-voltage sweep (I-V curve) and take the mathematical derivative,
or

(2) Use an AC technique of applying a sinusoidal signal superimposed on a DC bias

to the sample. Then use a lock-in amplifier to obtain the AC voltage across and the
AC current through the DUT (device under test).

I-V Technique
The I-V sweep technique has the advantage that it is easier to set up and control. It only
requires one source and one measurement instrument, which makes it relatively easy to
coordinate and control. The fundamental problem is that even a small amount of noise
becomes a large noise when the measurements are differentiated.

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
Figure 2a. I-V curve Figure 2b. Differentiated I-V Figure 2c. 100 curves, averaged
curve together

Figure 2a shows an I-V curve, a series of sourced and measured values (V1, I1), (V2,
I2), etc. Several techniques can be used to differentiate this data, but the simplest and most
common uses the slope between every pair of consecutive data points. For example, the first
point in the differential conductance curve would be (I2–I1)/(V2–V1). Because of the small
differences, a small amount of noise in either the voltage or current causes a large uncertainty
in the conductance. Figure 2b shows the differentiated curve and the noise, which is
unacceptably large for most uses. To reduce this noise, the I-V curve and its derivative can be
measured repeatedly. Noise will be reduced by , where N is the number of times the curve
is measured. After 100 repetitions, which can take more than an hour in a typical application,
it is possible to reduce the noise by a factor of 10, as shown in Figure 2c. While this could
eventually produce a very clean data set, researchers are forced to accept high noise levels,
because measuring 10,000 times to reduce the noise 100× would take far more time than is
usually available. Thus, while the I-V curve technique is simple, it forces a trade-off between
high noise and very long measurement times.

The AC Technique
The AC technique superimposes a low amplitude AC sine wave on a stepped DC bias,
as shown in Figure 3. The problem with this method is that, while it provides a small
improvement in noise over the I-V curve technique, it imposes a large penalty in terms of
system complexity.

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
 Applied
Stimulus

Time

Figure 3. The AC technique measures the response to a sine stimulus while sweeping the DC bias through
the device’s operating range.

Mixing the AC and DC signals is a significant challenge. It is sometimes done with

series resistors and sometimes with blocking capacitors. With either method, the current
through the DUT and the voltage across the DUT are no longer calibrated, so both the AC
and DC components of the current and voltage must be measured, as shown in Figure 4. A
lock-in amplifier may provide the AC stimulus, but frequently the required AC signal is either
larger or smaller than a lock-in output can provide, so an external AC source is often required
and the lock-in measurements must be synchronized to it.
The choice of frequency for the measurement is another complicating factor. It
is desirable to use a frequency that is as high as possible, because a lock-in amplifier’s
measurement noise decreases at higher frequencies. However, the DUT’s response frequency
usually limits the usable frequency to 10–100Hz, where the lock-in amplifier’s measurement
noise is five to ten times higher than its best specification. The DUTs response frequency is
determined by the device impedance and the cable capacitance, so long cabling, such as that
used to attach to a device in a cryostat, reduces the usable frequency and increases noise,
further reducing the intended benefit of the AC technique. Above all, the complexity of the
AC method is the biggest drawback, as it requires precise coordination and computer control
of six to eight instruments, and it is susceptible to problems of ground loops and common
mode current noise.
Another challenge of this method is combining the AC signal and DC bias. There’s
no one widely recognized product that addresses this issue. Often, many instruments are
massed together in order to meet this requirement. Such instrumentation may include a lock-
in amplifier, AC voltage source or function generator (if not using the reference in the lock-in
amplifier), DC bias source, DC ammeter, and coupling capacitor/circuitry to combine AC
source and DC bias. In many cases, what researchers are really trying to do is source current,

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
so the series resistors used to combine the AC and DC must be higher impedance than the
device, which is unknown until the measurement is made. An example system is shown in
Figure 4. Assembling such a system requires, in addition to time, extensive knowledge of
electrical circuitry. Time and technical resources often challenge material researchers and
students of other disciplines who are interested in characterizing devices.

AC Technique
T
R1 R2
DC AC
V
Voltage V
Voltage

DC
DUT Lock-In
V
Voltmeter
VDC dV

DC Lock-In
Meter
IDC dI

Figure 4. Block diagram of the AC technique, which reduces noise, but is very expensive (in equipment and
time) and complicated.

Conclusions About Old Techniques

In summary, the I-V technique is simple, but noisy. The AC technique has marginally lower
noise, but is very complex. Fortunately, however, there is a technique that is both simple
and low noise.

Keithley Method for Performing Differential Conductance

Now there is another approach to differential conductance, a four-wire, source current/
measure voltage technique. Keithley is introducing this capability with its Models 6220 and
6221 Current Sources and 2182A Nanovoltmeter. The current sources combine the DC and
AC components into one source, with no need to do a secondary measure of the current,
because its output is much less dependent on the changing device impedance (Figure 5).
Keithley’s method is performed by adding an alternating current to a linear staircase
sweep. The amplitude of the alternating portion of the current is the differential current, dI
(Figure 6). The differential current is constant throughout the test. The current source is

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
synchronized with the nanovoltmeter via the Trigger Link cable. After measuring the voltage
at each current step, the nanovoltmeter calculates the delta voltage between consecutive steps.
Each delta voltage is averaged with the previous delta voltage to calculate the differential
voltage, dV. The differential conductance, ΔG, can now be derived using dI/dV. The math
for this is covered in more detail in the white paper titled “Achieving Accurate and Reliable
Resistance Measurements in Low Power and Low Voltage Applications,” which is available
online at www.keithley.com.
AC Technique
T
R1 R2
DC AC
V
Voltage V
Voltage

Model 2182A Model 622X

RS-232 GPIB or
Ethernet
DC Lock-In Trigger Link
T
V
Voltmeter DUT 2182A NANOVOLTMETER 6220 DC AND AC CURRENT SOURCE

VDC dV

DUT
DC Lock-In
Meter
IDC dI

Figure 5. The AC Technique (left) vs. the Keithley Technique (right)

Each A/D conversion

integrates (averages)
integrates
voltage over a fixed time.

Meas
V5 Meas
Meas V6
V3 Meas
Meas V4
V1 Meas
V2
2182A
Applied V-Meas
Stimulus Delay ∆I ∆I

622X 4th Cycle

I-Source 3rd Cycle
2nd Cycle
1st Cycle
Time

1st Reading ∆V = [(V1–V2)

–V2) + (V3–V2)]/
(V3–V2)]/4

Figure 6a. Applied current during Keithley Figure 6b. Detail of applied current and
Differential Conductance measurement measured device voltage

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
Why Choose the Keithley Method
The new Keithley method for differential conductance provides low noise results at least
10× faster than previous methods. There are many other benefits of selecting the Keithley
6220/6221 Current Source and 2181A Nanovoltmeter to make differential conductance
measurements. One is that significantly fewer instruments are required (see Figure 5).
The Keithley method requires two instruments (the 6220/6221 and 2182A) while the AC
technique requires eight instruments and external circuitry.
Devices must be characterized over a user-defined set of currents (or voltages). When
the user-defined currents are small, the low current capability of the 622X is unmatched by
any user-made system in source accuracy, source noise, and capability to do guarding, which
reduces DC leakage and improves system response time. It is also able to source current
accurately well below 10pA. Whether or not the current levels are low, the voltage levels are
almost always low. The nanovoltmeter’s sensitivity, which is superior to lock-in amplifiers, its
low 1/f noise, and its ability to compensate for offsets and drift make it a superior solution for
differential conductance measurements.
The Keithley method uses four-wire connections, which are desirable because
they eliminate voltage errors due to lead resistance or contact resistance. This is of
especial concern when the device has regions of low or moderate impedance, because lead
resistance may be significant compared to the actual resistance of the device. In a four-wire
configuration, there is no current flowing through the sense leads and thus no voltage drop.
Essentially, the voltmeter is placed directly across the DUT.
Another key benefit of sourcing current and measuring voltage is that in areas of
highest conductance, more data points are collected by sourcing the sweep in equal current
steps. Often, these areas are exactly the areas in which researches are most interested. Thus,
the data collected with the Keithley method is most detailed around these regions of interest.
As discussed before, the I-V technique can take tens of thousands of measurement
sweeps to attain sufficiently low noise. Because of its inherently low sourcing and measuring
noise, the Keithley technique requires only one pass, shortening hours of data collection to a
few minutes.
In the AC method the speed limitations are a direct result of cable capacitance. Device
impedance multiplied by cable capacitance (R × C) is the fundamental system time constant.
With three separate instruments connected directly to the device, this capacitance can be
extremely high. This means that stimulus cannot be applied to the device at a frequency faster
than this time constant. This forces the AC technique to be used at lower frequencies, which
results in higher noise due to 1/f effects. With lock-in amplifiers, the lower the frequency

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
used, the greater the measurement noise. The Keithley method, with two instruments
connected to the device instead of three as in the AC technique, has an inherently lower cable
capacitance. Further, the 6220/6221 provides an active guard, which eliminates the slowing
effects of cable capacitance. This greatly improved device settling time results in higher speed
and greater accuracy.

Special Cases
Some devices have non-monotonic I-V curves. This behavior is classified into two categories.
Both categories are sometimes referred to as NDC (negative differential conductance).

(1) Current Hop – A given voltage may correlate to more than one possible current
(Figure 7)

(2) Negative Differential Conductance – A given current may correlate to more than
one possible voltage (Figure 8)
Let’s look at how the source current/measure voltage differential conductance method
can be used with devices that exhibit these types of behaviors.

Current Hop
Some devices exhibit an I-V curve where the current is a multi-valued function of voltage
(Figure 7a). The negative differential conductance region cannot be characterized by applying
a voltage source, because any regulated voltage source is unstable into negative resistance
loads. Instead, a voltage source would produce a hysteresis curve that never traces out the
NDC region (dashed lines in Figure 7a). Interestingly, a current source is not stable over this
NDC region either, but adding a series resistor in the HI lead presents a composite device to
the current source, so that it does not see any NDC region. This resistance must be at least as
large as the largest negative resistance throughout the NDC region of the device.
Without any change to the 622x setup, the entire differential conductance curve can
be measured because the four-wire configuration connects the nanovoltmeter directly across
the device and not the series resistor, whose voltage drop is rejected along with all other lead
resistance. This lead resistance, which is normally considered a problem, actually makes full
characterization possible with these devices. With Keithley’s source-current architecture there
is no additional measurement required. Other methods require measurements of both device
current and voltage in these cases.

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
Current Negative
egative differential reg
region: Current Series resistor
both I and V sources eliminates
unstable, no direct NDC region.
measurements possible.

V
Voltage V
Voltage

Figure 7a. Devices with negative differential Figure 7b. The blue curve shows the device voltage
conductance regions require special as seen by the nanovoltmeter. The pink
treatment. curve shows the voltage across the device
plus the series resistor as seen by current
source – no NDC region to create
instability.

Negative Differential Conductance

If the I-V curve exhibits voltage that is a multi-valued function of current, again, neither
voltage nor current sources are stable over the NDC region. To stabilize this measurement,
it is necessary to add a parallel resistor. The resistance should be low enough that the slope
of its I-V curve exceeds the maximum slope of the negative resistance region of the device’s
I-V curve. That is, the resistance must be smaller than the smallest negative resistance
throughout the NDC region of the device. If the chosen resistor is small enough, the slope of
the combined I-V response will always be monotonic. The I-V curve traced out is now the
sum of both I-V curves (Figure 8b). Because we are measuring differential conductance, the
conductance of the parallel resistor (1/R) can be simply subtracted from every measurement
in the sweep.

Negative
egative differential reg
region: Resistor in parallel
both I and V sources with DUT eliminates
unstable, no direct instability from NDC.
Current measurements possible. Current

V
Voltage V
Voltage

Figure 8. Even when the device shows multiple possible voltages for some currents, differential conductance
can easily be obtained with the new method.

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
Conclusion
Slow, noisy, and complex are how the old I-V sweep and AC techniques have always
been described. This is even more true now that Keithley has developed a new technique.
Keithley’s technique can:

• Improve speed by providing low noise results at least 10× faster.

• Replace the need for thousands of measurement sweeps to only one sweep,
shortening hours of data collection to a few minutes.

• Reduce complexity by using two instruments instead of eight plus

external circuitry.

• Increase accuracy with fast device settling times.

• Decrease cost with significantly fewer instruments and greatly improved

measurement time.

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
All Keithley trademarks and trade names are the property of Keithley Instruments, Inc.
All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective companies.

Keithley Instruments, Inc. 28775 Aurora Road • Cleveland, Ohio 44139 • 440-248-0400 • Fax: 440-248-6168
1-888-KEITHLEY (534-8453) • www.keithley.com

© Copyright 2005 Keithley Instruments, Inc. No. 2610

Printed in the U.S.A. 0305

A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e