Ultra-High-Temperature Vacuum Prober for Electrical and Thermal Measurements

TL;DR

This paper introduces an ultra-high-temperature vacuum probe station capable of precise electrical and thermal measurements of materials up to 1150 K, enabling simultaneous property analysis without contact re-adjustments.

Contribution

The development of a contactless, high-temperature vacuum probe station that measures electrical and thermal properties simultaneously up to 1150 K is a novel advancement.

Findings

Measured electrical signals from 30 nV upward on sapphire.

Determined thermal conductivity and diffusivity of sapphire at high temperatures.

Achieved stable measurements over 66 hours without contact re-adjustment.

Abstract

We develop an ultra-high-temperature vacuum probe station (UHT-VPS) featuring a sample holder heated by thermal radiation from a silicon carbide heater. This contactless configuration electrically isolates the sample from the high-power heating source through a vacuum gap, ensuring reliable measurements under extreme conditions. The capability of this UHT-VPS to measure electrical signals from 30 nV upward on bulk sapphire is demonstrated using the 3w/2w method. Measurements are continuously operated from 300 to 1150 K, under high vacuum, for a total of about 66 hours without readjusting the contact. They yield the linear and quadratic temperature coefficients of resistance of chromium/platinum micro-resistances, as well as the sapphire's thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity. By recording the heater and sensor temperature signals up to 30 kHz and fitting them with theoretical models that account for the quadratic TCR of Cr/Pt microwires, we obtain values in agreement with literature data obtained by optical methods. In this temperature range, we also measure thermal conductivity, which cannot be directly accessed by optical techniques. Our system thus provides an effective solution for simultaneously retrieving the electrical and thermal properties of materials using a single set of 3w/2w data up to unprecedented temperature levels.