The freestanding sensor-based 3ω technique for measuring thermal conductivity of solids: Principle and examination

In recent two decades, the 3 omega technique has been proven to be valuable for characterizing thermophysical properties of materials from nanoscale to bulk, but some inherent deficiencies in this technique such as laborious and repeated four-pad micro strip heater/sensor deposition process and flimsiness of the micro heater/sensor limit its practical applications. Here, the authors report a novel 3 omega technique, based on a freestanding sensor replacing the conventional 3 omega heater/sensor adjacent to the specimen surface. A zigzag temperature response curve of the new sensor instead of the classical straight line was observed and used to extract the specimen thermal conductivity. Experimental results which excellently agree with calculation values show that the new technique is of great application value to thermal properties characterization of amorphous bulks and hundreds of microns thick wafers. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3579495]