Scanning thermal microscopy: A nanoprobe technique for studying the thermal properties of nanocomponents

In this paper, a novel micromachined scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) microcantilever with a sharp, conductive platinum tip is proposed for temperature and thermal conductivity measurements in sub‐micron structures of micro‐ and nanoelectronic components. The idea and physical background of SThM operation is presented, together with brief description of probes and example images of a planar polycrystalline‐silicon microfuse obtained using passive‐ and active‐mode SThM.