Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Nanotechnology
Publication Date
Page Number
395709
Volume
20
Issue
39
Abstract
Understanding of local mechanisms for temperature-induced phase transitions in polymers requires quantitative measurements of thermomechanical behavior, including glass transition and melting temperatures as well as temperature dependent elastic and loss moduli and thermal expansion coefficients in nanoscale volumes. Here, we demonstrate an approach for probing local thermal phase transitions based on the combination of thermal field confinement by a heated SPM probe and multi-frequency thermo-mechanical detection. The local measurement of the glass transition temperature is demonstrated and the detection limits are established.
