Thermoelectric properties of atomic force microscopy probes electrochemically layered with porous platinum

Porous platinum nanolayers on atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes were prepared by means of micro-electrochemistry of platinum chloride in non-aqueous solution. The silicon nitride AFM probes were previously sputtered with conductive layers of Ti, Ag, AlSiCu alloy and NiCr 5050. Homogeneous and continuous nanolayers of porous platinum (200 nm thick) were constructed on the NiCr/SixNy AFM probes. The porous platinum electrochemically layered AFM probes exhibited a low reflectance of 5% due to their absorption of infrared radiation in the wavelength region of 2-20 mu m. When integrated into a microelectric circuit, this nanostructured crystalline system has the potential to convert absorbed thermal energy into electricity.