Title: An experimental method to estimate the temperature of individual nanowires

Authors: J.D. Prades, R. Jimenez-Diaz, F. Hernandez-Ramirez, S. Barth, J. Pan, A. Cirera, A. Romano-Rodriguez, S. Mathur, J.R. Morante

Addresses: EME/XaRMAE/IN²UB, Departament d'Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya (IREC). ' EME/XaRMAE/IN²UB, Departament d'Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. ' Electronic Nanosystems S.L., Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya (IREC). ' Nanocrystalline Materials and Thin Film Systems, Leibniz-Institute of New Materials, Saarbruecken, Germany; Department of Chemistry, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. ' Nanocrystalline Materials and Thin Film Systems, Leibniz-Institute of New Materials, Saarbruecken, Germany; Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. ' EME/XaRMAE/IN²UB, Departament d'Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. ' EME/XaRMAE/IN²UB, Departament d'Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. ' Nanocrystalline Materials and Thin Film Systems, Leibniz-Institute of New Materials, Saarbruecken, Germany; Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. ' EME/XaRMAE/IN²UB, Departament d'Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya (IREC), Barcelona, Spain

Abstract: In this paper, the authors present an effective experimental method to estimate the temperature of individual metal oxide nanowires that can be used to quantify the heating produced in conductometric or other operating conditions. The here-proposed method is based on the analysis of the recovery time of the nanowire|s resistance after exposure to a gas pulse (0.5 ppm of NO₂ in dry air). It is reproducible with different devices always with uncertainties below ±20°C in the temperature range (70-300°C) studied herein. The exploration of alternative gases and nanolithography techniques may help to extend its operating range and its applicability to other materials. In any case, the opportunity to probe temperatures at the nanoscale opens the door to a number of fundamental and applied advancements in the field of nanotechnology.

Keywords: nanowires; self-heating; temperature; nanometrology; SnO2; tin oxide; nitrogen dioxide; NO2; gas sensors; FIB; nanotechnology; alternative gases; nanolithography.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2009.026745

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2009 Vol.6 No.9, pp.860 - 869

Published online: 24 Jun 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article