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Quantifying non-contact tip-sample thermal exchange parameters for accurate scanning thermal microscopy with heated
Adam A Wilson1, Theodorian Borca-Tasciuc1
1Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th St., Troy, New York 12180, USA.
The Review of Scientific Instruments
|August 3, 2017
Summary
Accurate non-contact thermal conductivity measurements using scanning thermal microscopy require careful calibration. This study shows that thermal exchange parameters depend on sample properties, influencing results, and suggests optimal calibration sample sets for improved accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Heated probe scanning thermal microscopy (SPM) is crucial for determining material thermal conductivity.
- Simplified heat-transfer models often assume sample-independent parameters, an assumption rarely validated for non-contact SPM.
- The impact of calibration procedures on non-contact SPM thermal conductivity measurements remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish conditions for accurate quantitative, localized, non-contact measurements using SPM with heated microprobes.
- To investigate the dependence of thermal exchange parameters on sample thermal conductivity and probe-to-sample clearance.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of different calibration sample sets for the intersection method.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a validated three-dimensional finite element (3DFE) model without fitting parameters.
- Simulated probe thermal resistance as a function of sample thermal conductivity and probe-to-sample clearance.
- Determined thermal exchange parameters by fitting 3DFE simulations to a simplified heat transfer model using the intersection method.
Main Results:
- Thermal exchange parameters (radius and contact resistance) increase with sample thermal conductivity at low values (<1 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹), then plateau.
- These trends were consistent across investigated probe-to-sample clearances (260-1010 nm).
- The intersection method's accuracy depends on the chosen calibration sample thermal conductivities.
Conclusions:
- Quantitative non-contact SPM requires accounting for sample-dependent thermal exchange parameters.
- Optimal calibration sample sets for the intersection method include either medium (1 & 2 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹) or wide (0.5 & 50 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹) thermal conductivity ranges.
- The wide range calibration (0.5 & 50 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹) provided higher accuracy (0.5%-19.4%) for thermal conductivities within 0.1-10 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹.
