Advanced Micro Devices Corporation

Ayesha R Kizchery

Andrew Norman Erickson

Bryan M Tracy

Roger L Alvis

Jeremias D Romero

A diode is formed at the tip of a pointed portion of a probe of a scanning probe microscope. When the diode is forward biased, the current through the diode varies with the temperature of the diode. The magnitude of the current is an indication of the temperature of the tip of the probe. If the tip is scanned over a surface, a thermal map of the surface can be made and hot spots on the surface located. In some embodiments, the pointed portion of the probe is made of a semiconductor material (for example, silicon). A layer of a metal (for example, platinum) is made to contact the semiconductor material of the pointed portion only at the tip of the pointed portion, thereby forming a very small temperature sensing Schottky diode at the tip of the pointed portion.

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Ayesha R Kizchery