Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM)
Thermal methods, such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), are well-established techniques for characterizing the transition temperature of materials. However, a serious limitation of conventional thermal methods is that they give only a sample-averaged response and cannot provide information on localized defects, nor can they give the thermal properties of coatings/films less than a few microns in thickness.
The Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM) VITA module enables high-resolution thermal characterization capabilities on existing Bruker scanning probe microscopes (SPMs). With SThM-VITA, users can determine, with nanoscale spatial resolution and correlated topographical information, the local thermal properties of a material.
