The principles of micro-thermal analysis and its application to the study of macromolecules

A newly developed Micro-Thermal Analyzer affords images based on thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and permits localized thermal analyses on samples of a square micrometer area by combining the imaging ability of the atomic force microscope and the thermal characterization ability of temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry. Since thermal penetration depth depends on frequency, one can obtain depth profiles of thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity by varying the modulation frequency. Also, the analyzer can be used to characterize phase-transition temperatures, such as glass and melting transitions, of small sample regions with a precision of about %3 K. Heating rates can be varied between 1 and 1500 K min(-1). Modulation frequencies can be applied in the range from 2 to 100 kHz. We applied this new type of instrument to characterize microscopic thermal and structural properties of various polymer systems. The operation principles of the instrument are described, application examples are presented, and the future of the technique is discussed.