Measurement of thermal conductivity of Bi2Te3 nanowire using high-vacuum scanning thermal wave microscopy

With the increasing application of nanomaterials in the development of high-efficiency thermoelectric energy conversion materials and electronic devices, the measurement of the intrinsic thermal conductivity of nanomaterials in the form of nanowires and nanofilms has become very important. However, the current widely used methods for measuring thermal conductivity have difficulties in eliminating the influence of interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) during the measurement. In this study, by using high-vacuum scanning thermal wave microscopy (HV-STWM), we propose a quantitative method for measuring the thermal conductivity of nanomaterials. By measuring the local phase lag of high-frequency (>10 kHz) thermal waves passing through a nanomaterial in a high-vacuum environment, HV-STWM eliminates the measurement errors due to ITR and the distortion due to heat transfer through air. By using HV-STWM, we measure the thermal conductivity of a Bi2Te3 nanowire. Because HV-STWM is quantitatively accurate and its specimen preparation is easier than in the thermal bridge method, we believe that HV-STWM will be widely used for measuring the thermal properties of various types of nanomaterials. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.