title: Imaging thermal conductivity with nanoscale resolution using a scanning spin probe.
abstract: The ability to probe nanoscale heat flow in a material is often limited by lack of spatial resolution. Here, we use a diamond-nanocrystal-hosted nitrogen-vacancy centre attached to the apex of a silicon thermal tip as a local temperature sensor. We apply an electrical current to heat up the tip and rely on the nitrogen vacancy to monitor the thermal changes the tip experiences as it is brought into contact with surfaces of varying thermal conductivity. By combining atomic force and confocal microscopy, we image phantom microstructures with nanoscale resolution, and attain excellent agreement between the thermal conductivity and topographic maps. The small mass and high thermal conductivity of the diamond host make the time response of our technique short, which we demonstrate by monitoring the tip temperature upon application of a heat pulse. Our approach promises multiple applications, from the investigation of phonon dynamics in nanostructures to the characterization of heterogeneous phase transitions and chemical reactions in various solid-state systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, CUNY-City College of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA.
authors.forename: Abdelghani
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laraoui
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, CUNY-City College of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA.|Physics Program, CUNY-The Graduate Center, New York, New York 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Halley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aycock-Rizzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, CUNY-City College of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA.|CUNY-Advanced Science Research Center, New York, New York 10031, USA.|Department of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, CUNY-City College of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA.|CUNY-Advanced Science Research Center, New York, New York 10031, USA.|Department of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riedo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, CUNY-City College of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA.|Physics Program, CUNY-The Graduate Center, New York, New York 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Meriles