Recently, scanning resistive probe microscopy, which has a semiconducting resistor at the apex of the tip and observes surface charges directly, was newly proposed and fabricated. In order to optimize process parameters as well as to understand the mechanisms of the field induced resistance change in the resistive probe, the doping profile of resistive patterns is investigated by the use of Kelvin probe force microscopy. Overlapping space charge regions (O-SCRs) in between n(+) regions were observed. Decreased barrier heights in the structure of n(+)/O-SCR/n(+) were also investigated. In particular, resistive patterns with diffusion times longer than 12 h were observed to have overlapped outdiffusion of As+ ions, showing no formation of O-SCR in between n(+) regions. This was also confirmed by measurements of I-V characteristics. 0 2006 American Vacuum Society.