3 ω correction method for eliminating resistance measurement error due to Joule heating

Electrical four-terminal sensing at (sub-)micrometer scales enables the characterization of key electromagnetic properties within the semiconductor industry, including materials’ resistivity, Hall mobility/carrier density, and magnetoresistance. However, as devices’ critical dimensions continue to shrink, significant over/underestimation of properties due to a by-product Joule heating of the probed volume becomes increasingly common. Here, we demonstrate how self-heating effects can be quantified and compensated for via 3ω signals to yield zero-current transfer resistance. Under further assumptions, these signals can be used to characterize selected thermal properties of the probed volume, such as the temperature coefficient of resistance and/or the Seebeck coefficient.