Nanowires of a diameter less than 50nm have been predicted to exhibit a higher thermoelectric figure of merit in
comparison to their bulk equivalent. In order to experimentally measure the thermoelectric power in nanowires it is
necessary to design and fabricate a measurement platform that is ideally matched in thermal and physical size and
capable of testing a large number of individual nanowires in a high throughput manner. In this paper we present the
design, fabrication, and characterization of a MEMS thermoelectric workbench with a high density of testing locations.
Characteristic measurements of the thermoelectric power of Au nanowires are presented as demonstration of the
workbench functionality.
This paper presents a unique solution to the inaccuracies produced when thermally scanning various micro and nano
systems with thermistor tip scanning thermal microscopy (SThM). Under dc measurement conditions, thermistor tip
heating induces perturbations in the measured system that change with sample properties like material and
geometry. As a result, normal SThM scans are affected by errors that make it difficult to interpret the 2D-temperature
scans of such systems. By coating the SThM tips with a thermally resistive material (100nm of Si3N4)
we demonstrate that the temperature dependence on sample material and geometry can be minimized and the tip
heating problem can be mitigated to that of a constant temperature offset problem. Included are the first images of
coated scanning thermal microscopy (C-SThM) as well as a lumped model that describes the basis of the
improvement seen in the thermal images.
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