As the first part in the measurements of the thermal conductivity of a single carbon nanotube by using the method with sample-attached T-type nanosensor, the electrical and thermal properties of the platinum (Pt) nanosensors have been investigated. The suspended Pt nanosensors with the thickness of 40 nm, the width of 360-600 nm, and the length of about 6.0 μm were fabricated with the electron beam lithography, electron beam physical vapor deposition and isotropic/anisotropic etching techniques. The electrical resistances of these nanosensors were measured by a four-wire method and the resistance-temperature coefficient was determined from the measured resistances at different temperatures. Based on one-dimensional heat conduction model, the in-plane thermal conductivity of the nanosensor was calculated from the linear relation of the volume-averaged temperature increase and the heating rate measured in vacuum. The experimental results show that the electrical conductivity, the resistance-temperature coefficient and the in-plane thermal conductivity of the nanosensor are much lower than those of the bulk values.
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