
307Thermal Nanosensors
What is the principle of STP? Similar in principle to the aforementioned
instruments, the scanning thermal proler (STP) interacts with the sample
by sensing heat conducted through the scanning probe. It provides both tem-
perature and topographic information (graphical representation of the sur-
face features). Although the best reported spatial resolution for it is about an
order of magnitude larger than for AFMs and STMs, it permits wide latitude
in the gap size. Why? This is because the thermal interaction between the tip
and the sample exists over a much longer range than tunneling current and
near-eld fo ...