A Review on Principles and Applications of Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM)

Abstract

As the size of materials, particles, and devices shrinks to nanometer, atomic, or even quantum scale, it is more challenging to characterize their thermal properties reliably. Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) is an emerging method to obtain local thermal information by controlling and monitoring probe-sample thermal exchange processes. In this review, key experimental and theoretical components of the SThM system are discussed, including thermal probes and experimental methods, heat transfer mechanisms, calibration strategies, thermal exchange resistance, and effective heat transfer coefficients. Additionally, recent applications of SThM to novel materials and devices are reviewed, with emphasis on thermoelectric, biological, phase change, and 2D materials.

Unprecedented switching endurance affords for high-resolution surface temperature mapping using a spin-crossover film

“…To reach sub-wavelength spatial resolution, the most promising techniques are those involving scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) 5 or scanning probe microscopy (SPM), such as scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) 6 – 10 . Although these techniques can afford for temperature measurements down to sub-10 nm length scale 5 , 9 , they are often invasive, require sophisticated equipment and are difficult to implement or transpose for everyday practical applications.…”

On the Limits of Scanning Thermal Microscopy of Ultrathin Films

“…SThM is a method for qualitatively mapping local thermal conductivities [34]. SThM measurements create two images of the same position simultaneously, one of the topography and one of the corresponding thermal properties.…”

Thermal conductivity measurements of thin films by non-contact scanning thermal microscopy under ambient conditions

“…The ability to accurately and versatilely determine the thermal conductivity (kf) for thin films is critical for the performance and thermal management of devices based on these low-dimensional materials 1 . However, measuring high thermal conductivity materials at the nanoscale is a challenging task [2][3][4] . Over the last two decades various techniques had been developed to characterize the thermal conductivity with improving adaptability and spatial resolution.…”

“…Please do not adjust margins Please do not adjust margins thermal conductivities to help interpolate the thermal conductivity of unknown bulk samples 2,4 . For a film-on-substrate sample, a finite element simulation was used to decouple the thin film thermal conductivity from the interpolated total effective thermal conductivity of the entire sample.…”