In-Plane Thermal and Thermoelectric Properties of Polycrystalline Highly Preferred Orientation [(W)x(WSE2)y]z Superlattice Thin Films

Abstract

It was recently found by using the time domain thermal reflectance method that polycrystalline highly preferred orientation WSe2 and [(W)x(WSe2)y]z superlattice films possess extremely low cross-plane thermal conductivity, which is desirable for thermal insulation and thermoelectric energy conversion applications. However, it is difficult to obtain the in-plane thermal conductivity by using the laser reflectance or the 3-ω method. Here we employ a suspended microdevice developed for measuring thermoelectric properties of individual nanowires and nanofilms to obtain the in-plane thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient of [(W)x(WSe2)y]z superlattice films. The measurement results show that the in-plane thermal conductivities of these films are much higher than the cross-plane values, making the thermal conductivity of the films highly anisotropic.