An instrument for the definition of absolute temperature on the scale of one micron based on the measurement of Johnson noise in a small metallic resistor has been constructed. The instrument uses conventional monolithic amplifiers and signal processing circuitry and a custom sensor fabricated by bulk micromachining and electron-beam lithography. The instrument is simple to use and accurate to better than 1 K over the range 300–600 K following a single point calibration to ambient temperature. The incorporation of an integrated thermocouple as a transfer standard allows the use of the instrument to define temperatures with a 1 K accuracy and a random error of better than 50 mK in a 1 kHz bandwidth, and permits its operation in electrically noisy environments. Extension to the measurement of temperature on a scale much smaller than 1μm1μm is theoretically straightforward. The instrument has been used to calibrate a nano-thermometer (resistancethermometer atomic force microscopy probe) with applications in the temperature measurement of semiconductor devices. Finally the calibration of the system is confirmed by a calorimetric scan on a 100 pL sample of benzophenone.
Dobson, P. S., G. Mills, and J. M. R. Weaver. “Microfabricated temperature standard based on Johnson noise measurement for the calibration of micro-and nano-thermometers.” Review of scientific instruments 76.5 (2005): 054901.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1899463
