Thin film platinum resistive thermometers are conventionally applied for resistance thermometry techniques due to their stability and proven measurement accuracy. Depending upon the required thermometer thickness and temperature measurement, however, performance benefits can be realized through the application of alternative nanometallic thin films. Herein, a comparative experimental analysis is provided on the performance of nanometallic thin film thermometers most relevant to microelectronics and thermal sensing applications: Al, Au, Cu, and Pt. Sensitivity is assessed through the temperature coefficient of resistance, measured over a range of 10-300 K for thicknesses nominally spanning 25-200 nm. The interplay of electron scattering sources, which give rise to the temperature-dependent TCR properties for each metal, are analyzed in the framework of a Mayadas-Shatzkes based model. Despite the prevalence of evaporated Pt thin film thermometers, Au and Cu films fabricated in a similar manner may provide enhanced sensitivity depending upon thickness. These results may serve as a guide as the movement toward smaller measurement platforms necessitates the use of smaller, thinner metallic resistance thermometers.
Pfeifer, Thomas W.; Tomko, John A.; Hoglund, Eric H.; Scott, Ethan A.; Hattar, Khalid M.; Huynh, Kenny H.; Liao, Michael L.; Goorsky, Mark G.; Hopkins, Patrick E.
The thermal properties of semiconductors following exposure to ion irradiation are of great interest for the cooling of electronic devices; however, gradients in composition and structure due to irradiation often make the measurement difficult. Furthermore, the nature of spatial variations in thermal resistances due to spatially varying ion irradiation damage is not well understood. In this work, we develop an advancement in the analysis of time-domain thermoreflectance to account for spatially varying thermal conductivity in a material resulting from a spatial distribution of defects. We then use this method to measure the near-surface (≲1 μm) thermal conductivity of silicon wafers irradiated with Kr+ ions, which has an approximate Gaussian distribution centered 260 nm into the sample. Our numerical analysis presented here allows for the spatial gradient of thermal conductivity to be extracted via what is fundamentally a volumetric measurement technique. We validate our findings via transmission electron microscopy, which is able to confirm the spatial variation of the sub-surface silicon structure, and provide additional insight into the local structure resulting from the effects of ion bombardment. Thermal measurements found the ion stopping region to have a nearly 50x reduction in thermal conductivity as compared to pristine silicon, while TEM showed the region was not fully amorphized. Our results suggest this drastic reduction in silicon thermal conductivity is primarily driven by structural defects in crystalline regions along with boundary scattering between amorphous and crystalline regions, with a negligible contribution being due to implanted krypton ions themselves.
Studies of size effects on thermal conductivity typically necessitate the fabrication of a comprehensive film thickness series. In this Letter, we demonstrate how material fabricated in a wedged geometry can enable similar, yet higher-throughput measurements to accelerate experimental analysis. Frequency domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) is used to simultaneously determine the thermal conductivity and thickness of a wedged silicon film for thicknesses between 100 nm and 17 μm by considering these features as fitting parameters in a thermal model. FDTR-deduced thicknesses are compared to values obtained from cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy, and corresponding thermal conductivity measurements are compared against several thickness-dependent analytical models based upon solutions to the Boltzmann transport equation. Our results demonstrate how the insight gained from a series of thin films can be obtained via fabrication of a single sample.
In this study, we report on the thermal conductivity of amorphous carbon generated in diamond via nitrogen ion implantation (N 3 + at 16.5 MeV). Transmission electron microscopy techniques demonstrate amorphous band formation about the longitudinal projected range, localized approximately 7 μm beneath the sample surface. While high-frequency time-domain thermoreflectance measurements provide insight into the thermal properties of the near-surface preceding the longitudinal projected range depth, a complimentary technique, steady-state thermoreflectance, is used to probe the thermal conductivity at depths which could not otherwise be resolved. Through measurements with a series of focusing objective lenses for the laser spot size, we find the thermal conductivity of the amorphous region to be approximately 1.4 W m-1 K-1, which is comparable to that measured for amorphous carbon films fabricated through other techniques.
Germanium–antimony–telluride has emerged as a nonvolatile phase change memory material due to the large resistivity contrast between amorphous and crystalline states, rapid crystallization, and cyclic endurance. Improving thermal phase stability, however, has necessitated further alloying with optional addition of a quaternary species (e.g., C). In this work, the thermal transport implications of this additional species are investigated using frequency-domain thermoreflectance in combination with structural characterization derived from x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Specifically, the room temperature thermal conductivity and heat capacity of (Ge2Sb2Te5)1–xCx are reported as a function of carbon concentration (x ≤ 0:12) and anneal temperature (T ≤ 350 °C) with results assessed in reference to the measured phase, structure, and electronic resistivity. Phase stability imparted by the carbon comes with comparatively low thermal penalty as materials exhibiting similar levels of crystallinity have comparable thermal conductivity despite the addition of carbon. The additional thermal stability provided by the carbon does, however, necessitate higher anneal temperatures to achieve similar levels of structural order.
Scott, Ethan A.; Hattar, Khalid M.; Braun, Jeffery B.; Gaskins, John T.; Bai, Tingyu B.; Wang, Steven Y.; Gansky, Claire G.; Goorsky, Mark S.; Hopkins, Patrick E.