ABSTRACT
Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) enables nanometer-scale heat flow measurements and materials' thermal characterization. This chapter reviews the principles and the main resistive scanning thermal microscopy techniques operating in active mode heated probe for thermal imaging with sub-microscale spatial resolution. It also reviews research on the design of SThM experiments for localized thermal property imaging and characterization. The chapter discusses the investigation with the Wollaston probe of the thermal conductivity degradation of mesoporous silicon (PSi) made amorphous through swift heavy ion-irradiation. Combined with structural analysis, SThM results have been shown useful in the framework of development of this new method for reducing the thermal conductivity of PSi. The thermal conductivity values obtained from the SThM measurements are compared to those obtained by micro-Raman spectroscopy and by photoacoustic technique. The chapter presents the main principle, tools, and experimental data approaches that are currently used in resistive SThM operating in active mode for local thermal imaging and thermal conductivity measurements.
