Thermal conduction across a boron nitride and SiO2 interface

The need for efficient heat removal and superior thermal conduction in nano/micro devices has triggered tremendous studies in low-dimensional materials with high thermal conductivity. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is believed to be one of the candidates for thermal management and heat dissipation due to its novel physical properties, i.e. as a thermal conductor and electrical insulator. Here we report the interfacial thermal resistance between few-layer h-BN and its SiO2 substrate using the differential 3 omega method. The measured interfacial thermal resistance is around similar to 1.6 x 10(-8) m(2)K W-1 for monolayer h-BN and similar to 3.4 x 10(-8) m(2)K W-1 for 12.8 nm-thick h-BN in metal/h-BN/SiO2 interfaces. Our results suggest that the voids and gaps between the substrate and thick h-BN flakes limit the interfacial thermal conduction. This work provides a deeper understanding of utilizing h-BN flakes as a lateral heat spreader in electronic and optoelectronic nano/micro devices with further miniaturization and integration.