ABSTRACT
A simple cantilever beam fixed at one side and free at the other side could be used as a calorimeter when it is fabricated from two different materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion. Materials used for cantilever beam calorimeter’s fabrication are: silicon or silicon nitride and thin metallic films such as gold or silver. When the temperature changes the different values of the coefficient of thermal expansion of metal and silicon cause the sensor to deflect. The heat could be applied at the end of the calorimetric sensor or uniformly along the entire length of the sensor. The deflection of the bimaterial beam is a function of temperature. In order to enhance the cantilever beam sensitivity
to very small temperature variations the beam has to be very thin with the thickness at nanoscale dimensions. The dimensions of bimaterial cantilever beams are in the range: length 200 to 750 μm, width 20 to 40 μm and thickness 400 to 600 nm.
