Thermal property microscopy with frequency domain thermoreflectance

Abstract

A thermal property microscopy technique based on frequency domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) is presented. In FDTR, a periodically modulated laser locally heats a sample while a second probe beam monitors the surface reflectivity, which is related to the thermal properties of the sample with an analytical model. Here, we extend FDTR into an imaging technique capable of producing micrometer-scale maps of several thermophysical properties simultaneously. Thermal phase images are recorded at multiple frequencies chosen for maximum sensitivity to thermal properties of interest according to a thermal model of the sample. The phase versus frequency curves are then fit point-by-point to obtain quantitative thermal property images of various combinations of thermal properties in multilayer samples, including the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities, heat capacity, thermal interface conductance, and film thickness. An FDTR microscope based on two continuous-wave lasers is described, and a sensitivity analysis of the technique to different thermal properties is carried out. As a demonstration, we image ~3 nm of patterned titanium under 100 nm of gold on a silicon substrate, and simultaneously create maps of the thermal interface conductance and substrate thermal conductivity. Results confirm the potential of our technique for imaging and quantifying thermal properties of buried layers, indicating its utility for mapping thermal properties in integrated circuits.