Picosecond transient thermoreflectance for thermal conductivity characterization

We developed a picosecond transient thermoreflectance (ps-TTR) system for thermal property characterization, using a low-repetition-rate picosecond pulsed laser (1064 nm) as the heating source and a 532 nm CW laser as the probe. Low-repetition-rate pump eliminates the complication from thermal accumulation effect. Without the need of a mechanical delay stage, this ps-TTR system can measure the thermal decay curve from 500 ps up to 1 ms. Three groups of samples are tested: bulk crystals (glass, Si, GaAs, and sapphire); MoS2 thin films (157 similar to 900 nm thickness); InGaAs random alloy and GaAs/InAs digital alloy (short period superlattices). Analysis of the thermoreflectance signals shows that this ps-TTR system is able to measure both thermal conductivity and interface conductance in nanostructures. The measured thermal conductivity values in bulk crystals, MoS2 thin films, and InGaAs random alloy are all consistent with literature values. Cross-plane thermal conductivity in MoS2 thin films does not show obvious thickness dependence. Thermal conductivities of GaAs/InAs digital alloys are smaller than InGaAs random alloy, due to the efficient scattering at interfaces. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this newly developed ps-TTR system comparing with the popular time-domain thermoreflectance system.