Nanoscale measurements of the absolute temperature from the tunneling of the free electron gas

The direct measurement of the absolute temperature using tunneling of the free electron gas is reported. The tunneling nanojunction is established between the copper oxide and a platinum tip in a scanning tunneling microscope. The method is based on linear temperature dependence of the relative Fermi-level shift. The energy difference shifted linearly with temperature to a value of the order of k(B)T in the range from room temperature up to 1250 K. The energy spectrum of the free electrons is measured. A microelectromechanical systems device is fabricated to be a prototype of the microthermometer. The tunneling current spectrum is measured at resonant frequency. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.