HTHP Home · Issue Contents · Forthcoming Papers
Thermal conductivity characterization of thin films using scanning thermal microscopy with an effective thermal contact model
Junki Jung, Jaehee Park and Kyeongtae Kim
With the recent trend toward higher integration density and enhanced performance in semiconductor devices, thermal management and the analysis of localized heat transfer characteristics have become increasingly important. Scanning Thermal Microscopy has been widely recognized as an effective technique for investigating the thermal properties of thin films and nanostructures owing to its high spatial resolution. However, quantitative thermal conductivity analysis remains challenging due to the contact thermal resistance generated at the probe–sample interface. In this study, the thermal conductivity of thin films was quantitatively analyzed using a simple analytical model based on a thermal resistance network. First, the effective thermal contact radius at the probe–sample interface was calculated using reference samples with known thermal conductivities, namely Si and Pyrex. Based on the obtained contact parameter, the thermal conductivities of TEOS SiO2, SiON, and AlN thin films with different thicknesses and conditions (500 nm, 1000 nm, and 1000 nm after annealing at 200 °C) were evaluated. The effective thermal contact radius used in this study was defined not as the actual mechanical contact radius, but as an effective thermal contact parameter representing the heat transfer behavior between the probe and the sample. The proposed approach establishes a practical analytical framework in which an effective thermal contact radius is quantitatively determined from reference samples using a thermal resistance network and subsequently applied to the thermal conductivity characterization of thin films with different materials and thicknesses.
Keywords: Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM), Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Resistance Network, Thin Film
DOI: 10.32908/hthp.v55.2116