Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
674749 | Thermochimica Acta | 2010 | 11 Pages |
Abstract
Thin film based nanocalorimetry is a powerful tool to investigate nanosystems from a thermal point of view. However, nanocalorimetry is usually limited to amorphous or polycrystalline samples. Here we present a device that allows carrying out experiments on monocrystalline silicon. The monocrystalline silicon layer consists of the device layer from a silicon-on-insulator wafer and lies on a low-stress free-standing silicon nitride membrane. We applied a number of characterization techniques to determine the purity and quality of the silicon layer. All these techniques showed that the silicon surface is as pure as a standard silicon wafer and that it is susceptible to standard surface cleaning procedures. Additionally, we present a numerical model of the nanocalorimeter, which highlights that the silicon layer acts as a thermal plate thereby significantly improving thermal uniformity. This nanocalorimeter constitutes a promising device for the study of single-crystal Si surface processes and opens up an exciting new field of research in surface science.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes
Authors
Y. Anahory, M. Guihard, D. Smeets, R. Karmouch, F. Schiettekatte, P. Vasseur, P. Desjardins, Liang Hu, L.H. Allen, E. Leon-Gutierrez, J. Rodriguez-Viejo,