Dual Nano-Wire Thermal Conductivity Measurements

Nanonics has also developed Dual Wire Thermo-Resistance probes for use with the MultiView 4000™. In this specialized probe, two platinum wires are stretched through the nanopipette and are fused together at their tips. This fused junction has a resistance that is temperature-dependent. The unique probe allows for simultaneous measurement of surface topography and thermal conductivity even in intermittent contact mode. With multiple probes, heat can be introduced at specific locations and detected at other locations. The probes can also be used for resistance measurements. Only the MultiView 4000™ utilizing Dual Wire Thermo-Resistance probes with their exposed probe tip is capable of these functions.A thermal conductivity image of a static random access memory (SRAM) device is compared with the AFM topography. As contact is made in different regions of the SRAM with the thermal conductivity probe, the probe tip cools to different levels depending on the thermal conductivity of the material that is sitting under the chemically mechanically polished flat surface. The resulting image is obtained by determining the current alterations that had to be affected in order to keep the current flowing past the point resistance at a constant value.