Variable Temperature Measurements in Cryogenic Probe Stations

Electrical property measurements of nanoscale materials are important for characterization and understanding of materials and devices. Equally important is to measure these properties at various temperatures. These measurements are facilitated with cryogenic probe stations that provide a variable temperature environment over a wide range of temperatures. However, until this time a major inconvenience was caused by the thermal expansion of the probe tips and probe station as the temperature changed. To prevent the tip movement from damaging the sample, the normal procedure is to lift the probe tips as the temperature changes. This prevents the implementation of totally automated variable temperature measurements.