Cryostat for electrical measurements on multiple-element structures

This article describes a cryostat which enables electrical measurements at low temperatures at any point of a flat specimen in a vacuum. The cryostat is equipped with a compact two-coordinate probe mounted on the lower part of the vessel containing the cooling agent. The location of the probe on the lower part of the vessel has several advantages. Firstly, the probe is at low temperature and does not increase heat transfer to the specimen during measurement. Secondly, this location of the probe prevents uncontrollable deflection relative to the specimen even when the temperature varies over a wide range. This cryostat was used for measurements in the temperature range of 77-4000K on a large number of MDP structures formed on one semiconductor plate. The comparatively small size of the probe ensured that stray capacitance was low