A dual-domain 3 ω method for measuring the in-plane thermal conductivity of high-conductive thin films

Abstract

The thermal conductivity measurement of films with submicrometer thicknesses is difficult due to their exceptionally low thermal resistance, which makes it challenging to accurately measure the temperature changes that occur as heat flows through the film. Thus, specialized and sensitive measurement techniques are required. 3ω method is a widely used and reliable tool for measuring the thermal conductivity of films. However, the high in-plane thermal conductivity in thin films results in rapid heat dissipation across the thin film, resulting in poor measurement sensitivity and making it difficult to accurately measure the temperature gradient with the traditional 3ω method. Also, the traditional 3ω method requires cross-plane thermal conductivity to derive the in-plane counterpart. Here, we introduce a dual-domain 3ω method that adopts AC-modulated heating and electrode arrays facilitating surface temperature profiling: (1) the sensitivity was significantly improved due to the employment of low-thermal-conductivity-substrate, and (2) cross-plane thermal conductivity is not required for the analysis of in-plane counterpart. This measurement platform allows us to control heat penetration in depth via varied heating frequencies as well as spatial temperature detection through laterally distributed electrodes on the thin film surface. By utilizing the described method, we have determined the in-plane thermal conductivity of a copper film, having a thickness of 300 nm, which was found to be 346 Wm−1K−1 and validated by the Wiedemann–Franz law.