In-plane thermal conductivity measurements of Si μ-cantilevers using the suspended thermo-reflectance (STR) technique

The Suspended Thermoreflectance (STR) technique is described in this paper. This optoelectronic measurement tool performs thermal characterization of freestanding micro-/nanoscale materials. STR performs thermal mapping at the submicron level and produces unconstrained thermal conductivity unlike other optical measurement techniques where independent conductivity measurement is not possible due to their reliance on heat capacity. STR works by changing the temperature of a material and collecting the associated change in light reflection from multiple points on the sample surface. Reflection is a function of the material being tested, the wavelength of the probe light, geometry, and the composition of the specimen for transparent and quasi-transparent materials. In this article, Si μ-cantilevers are studied. In addition, a thermal analytical model is developed and incorporated with optical equations to characterize the conductivity of the Si μ-cantilevers. The analytical model is compared with a finite element model to check its applicability in the STR experiment and data analysis. To validate the technique, the thermal conductivity of 2 and 3 µm thick Si μ-cantilevers was determined using STR at a temperature range of 20-350 K and compared to simulations using the equation of phonon radiative transfer and literature values.