Abstract
As smallest feature sizes approach the 150 nm regime, the spatial resolution of a temperature measurement technique must be within the same range in order to resolve temperature distributions of single structures. In this work we present a system which has the capability to measure millikelvin temperature distributions while enabling a spatial resolution in the nanometer regime. The probe consists of a bent platinum wire which acts as a resistive probe. The probe is scanned over the sample in an SFM contact mode. The probe resistance changes caused by variations in the sample surface temperature are measured and recorded simultaneously with the topography data, thus producing two-dimensional temperature profiles. We have achieved a temperature resolution of 50 mK and a spatial resolution of less than 500 nm on passivated samples.
