The material used to form the bottom and top electrodes 302, 304, in one or more embodiments, comprises a material having increased thermal resistance, such as, but not limited to, silicon, germanium, carbon, tungsten, Manganin (an alloy containing copper, manganese and nickel), etc., although embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific material(s) for forming the bottom and top electrodes. Moreover, the bottom and top electrodes 302, 304 need not be formed of the same material. In one or more embodiments, a thermal conductance of the first and second electrodes 302, 304 is preferably less than about 100 watts per meter-kelvin (W/m·K). The thermal insulation layer 308 preferably comprises a material having sufficient thermal insulation properties, such as materials having a thermal conductivity that is less than about 0.1 W/m·K. Suitable materials for forming the thermal insulation layer 308 include, but are not limited to, porous oxides (e.g., silicon dioxide) or air.