US Patent 7448798 Scanning thermal probe microscope

An apparatus and method of measuring a parameter associated with a sample is provided. The method includes providing a probe adapted to heat the sample and applying a measuring current having a frequency ω1 to the probe. In operation, the method measures the amplitude of the voltage across the probe at a frequency ω1. This amplitude is indicative of a temperature of the probe. The preferred embodiment also provides a method of separating contamination of the thermal data caused by the probe from thermal data associated with the sample under test.