Imaging thermal conductivity with nanoscale resolution using a scanning spin probe

Abdelghani Laraoui, Halley Aycock-Rizzo, Yang Gao, Xi Lu, Elisa Riedo () and Carlos A. Meriles ()
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Abdelghani Laraoui: CUNY-City College of New York
Halley Aycock-Rizzo: CUNY-City College of New York
Yang Gao: CUNY-City College of New York
Xi Lu: Georgia Institute of Technology
Elisa Riedo: CUNY-City College of New York
Carlos A. Meriles: CUNY-City College of New York

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The ability to probe nanoscale heat flow in a material is often limited by lack of spatial resolution. Here, we use a diamond-nanocrystal-hosted nitrogen-vacancy centre attached to the apex of a silicon thermal tip as a local temperature sensor. We apply an electrical current to heat up the tip and rely on the nitrogen vacancy to monitor the thermal changes the tip experiences as it is brought into contact with surfaces of varying thermal conductivity. By combining atomic force and confocal microscopy, we image phantom microstructures with nanoscale resolution, and attain excellent agreement between the thermal conductivity and topographic maps. The small mass and high thermal conductivity of the diamond host make the time response of our technique short, which we demonstrate by monitoring the tip temperature upon application of a heat pulse. Our approach promises multiple applications, from the investigation of phonon dynamics in nanostructures to the characterization of heterogeneous phase transitions and chemical reactions in various solid-state systems.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9954

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