Simultaneous Measurement of Thermal Conductivity and Heat Capacity Across Diverse Materials Using the Square-Pulsed Source (SPS) Technique

Abstract

State-of-the-art techniques like dual-frequency Time-Domain Thermoreflectance (TDTR) and Frequency-Domain Thermoreflectance (FDTR) offer superb capability for simultaneous measurements of thermal conductivity and heat capacity with a spatial resolution on the order of 10 {\mu}m. However, their applicability is limited to highly conductive materials with an in-plane thermal conductivity exceeding 10 W/(m*K). In this paper, we introduce the Square-Pulsed Source (SPS) technique, offering a novel approach to concurrently measure thermal conductivity and heat capacity with a 10 {\mu}m spatial resolution, while significantly extending the measurable thermal conductivity range to an unprecedented low of 0.1 W/(m*K), offering enhanced versatility. To demonstrate and validate its efficacy, we conducted measurements on various standard materials--PMMA, silica, sapphire, silicon, and diamond--spanning a wide thermal conductivity range from 0.1 to 2000 W/(m*K). The obtained results exhibit remarkable agreement with literature values, with a typical measurement uncertainty of less than 10% across the entire thermal conductivity range. By providing a unique capability to characterize both highly and lowly conductive materials with micron-scale spatial resolution, the SPS method opens new avenues for understanding and engineering thermal properties across diverse applications.