Thermal and elastic characterizations by photothermal microscopy (invited)

A photothermal microscope based on photoreflectance and interferometric techniques is used to measure, on the same field, the thermal properties and the thermoelastic response of samples heated by a focused intensity modulated laser beam. In imaging mode, this instrument provides two-dimensional thermal or mechanical qualitative maps. In characterization configuration thermal and thermoelastic properties, with resolutions of a few micrometers, can be quantitatively measured if careful analysis of the signals is made.