Thermal Calibration of Heated Silicon Atomic Force Microscope Cantilevers

This paper analyzes the accuracy and stability of calibration methodologies for heated silicon atomic force microscope cantilevers. The calibration techniques include Raman thermometry, comparison of the cantilever electrical characteristics with theory, and isothermal calibration on a hotplate. The various techniques offer tradeoffs between calibration time and calibration accuracy, where the best accuracy possible is with Raman thermometry, which calibrates the heater temperature to within 3-10% of the temperature rise, depending upon the temperature. The temperature calibrations are stable with storage time and cantilever usage, although a ´burn-in´ period is usually required to stabilize the cantilever resistance.