Patent ID: 8177422

Claim:
A method of creating a transition temperature microscope image of local thermal transitions, the method comprising the steps of: a. Providing a heatable cantilever probe with a sharp tip that can be heated at a rate greater than 50 degrees C/sec; b. Engaging the probe tip within an elapsed time of less than one second to interact with a measurement point on a sample; c. Heating the cantilever probe while positioned at the measurement point and further while measuring at least one probe data signal; d. Withdrawing the probe tip and translating the probe relative to the sample to move the probe to a new measurement point within an elapsed time of less than one second; e. Repeating steps b-d at an array of measurement points on the sample; f. Using at least one algorithm, executing on a digital computation device, to automatically analyze probe data signals from a plurality of measurement points from the array to identify thermal phase transitions.