New adventures in thermal analysis

This paper describes recent advances in thermal analysis instrumentation wh ich combine the high resolution imaging capabilities of the atomic force mi croscope with physical characterisation by thermal analysis. Images of the surface may be obtained according to the specimen's thermal conductivity an d thermal expansivity differences in addition to the usual topographic reli ef. Localised equivalents of modulated temperature differential scanning ca lorimetry, thermomechanical and dynamic mechanical analysis have been devel oped with a spatial resolution of a few micrometres. A form of localised th ermogravimetry-evolved gas analysis has also been demonstrated. The same in strument configuration can be adapted to allow IR microspectrometry at a re solution better than the optical diffraction limit.