Detection of surface and subsurface heterogeneities by the hot tip thermoelectric power method

This paper is dedicated to the possibility of using hot tip thermoelectric power (HTTEP) measurement for the detection of surface and subsurface metallic heterogeneities. Depending on the size of the tip, metallic heterogeneities of different sizes and depths can be detected. A numerical simulation based on the resolution of transport equations has been developed in order to test the potentialities of this technique. Simulations and HTTEP measurement obtained on artificial metallic defects in samples are compared. The influence of the nature, size and depth of these heterogeneities on the measured thermoelectric power (TEP) is discussed.