A Discrepancy in Thermal Conductivity Measurement Data of Quantum Spin Liquid β′-EtMe3Sb[Pd(dmit)2]2 (dmit = 1,3-Dithiol-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate)

A molecular Mott insulator β′-EtMe3Sb[Pd(dmit)2]2 is a quantum spin liquid candidate. In 2010, it was reported that thermal conductivity of β′-EtMe3Sb[Pd(dmit)2]2 is characterized by its large value and gapless behavior (a finite temperature-linear term). In 2019, however, two other research groups reported opposite data (much smaller value and a vanishingly small temperature-linear term) and the discrepancy in the thermal conductivity measurement data emerges as a serious problem concerning the ground state of the quantum spin liquid. Recently, the cooling rate was proposed to be an origin of the discrepancy. We examined effects of the cooling rate on electrical resistivity, low-temperature crystal structure, and 13C-NMR measurements and could not find any significant cooling rate dependence.

Feasibility of Novel Rear-Side Mirage Deflection Method for Thermal Conductivity Measurements

Among the noncontact measurement technologies used to acquire thermal property information, those that use the photothermal effect are attracting attention. However, it is difficult to perform measurements for new materials with different optical and thermal properties, owing to limitations of existing thermal conductivity measurement methods using the photothermal effect. To address this problem, this study aimed to develop a rear-side mirage deflection method capable of measuring thermal conductivity regardless of the material characteristics based on the photothermal effect. A thin copper film (of 20 µm thickness) was formed on the surfaces of the target materials so that measurements could not be affected by the characteristics of the target materials. In addition, phase delay signals were acquired from the rear sides of the target materials to exclude the influence of the pump beam, which is a problem in existing thermal conductivity measurement methods that use the photothermal effect. To verify the feasibility of the proposed measurement technique, thermal conductivity was measured for copper, aluminum, and stainless steel samples with a 250 µm thickness. The results were compared with literature values and showed good agreement with relative errors equal to or less than 0.2%.

Thermal Conductivity Measurement Method for the Thin Epoxy Adhesive Joint Layer

Epoxy adhesives, particularly for non-conductive pastes, are used in 3D chip-stack flip-chip packages to reinforce the mechanical strength of joints. Although the thickness of the adhesive layer is relatively small, its thermal conductivity is known to have a major effect on the heat dissipation behavior of chipstack packages. Because conventional thermal conductivity measurement methods such as the laser flash method are based on the bulk specimens having thicknesses greater than several mm, they are limited in their ability to measure the thermal conductivity of thin adhesive layers between silicon dies. In this study, a modified guarded hot-plate method is proposed using standard joint layer samples of known thermal conductivity, and the measurement results are compared with those of the laser flash method. Results showed that, based on a constant heat flux from heat source to heat sink, the temperature difference at both sides of the joint layers was proportional to the thermal resistivity of the joint layer materials. The thermal conductivity of the under-test joint layer could therefore be determined from the thermal conductivity spectrum of the known samples using a graphical method. Although the measured values by the modified guarded hot-plate method were slightly higher than those derived from the laser flash method due to the thickness effect, it was concluded that the modified guarded hot-plate method could be a practical method in measuring the thermal conductivity of thin adhesive joint layers.

Sensitivity and Spatial Resolution for Thermal Conductivity Measurements using Non-contact Scanning Thermal Microscopy with Thermoresistive Probes under Ambient Conditions

Thermoresistive probes are increasingly popular in thermal conductivity characterization using Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM). A systematic analysis of the thermal conductivity measurement performance (sensitivity and spatial resolution) of thermoresistive SThM probe configurations that are available commercially is of interest to practitioners. In this work, the authors developed and validated 3-Dimensional Finite Element Models (3DFEM) of non-contact SThM with self-heated thermoresistive probes under ambient conditions with the probe-sample heat transfer in transition heat conduction regime for the four types of SThM probe configurations resembling commercially available products: Wollaston wire (WW) type probe, Kelvin Nanotechnology (KNT) type probe, Doped Silicon (DS) type probe, and Nanowire (NW) type probe. These models were then used to investigate the sensitivity and spatial resolution of the WW, KNT, DS and NW type probes for thermal conductivity measurements in non-contact mode in ambient conditions. The comparison of the SThM probes performance for measuring sample thermal conductivity and for the specific operating conditions investigated here show that the NW type probe has the best spatial resolution while the DS type probe has the best thermal conductivity measurement sensitivity in the range between 2-10 W·m−1·K−1. The spatial resolution is negatively affected by large probe diameters or by the presence of the cantilever in close proximity to the sample surface which strongly affects the probe-sample heat transfer in ambient conditions. An example of probe geometry configuration optimization was illustrated for the WW probe by investigating the effect of probe wire diameter on the thermal conductivity measurement sensitivity, showing ∼20% improvement in spatial resolution at the diameter with maximum thermal conductivity measurement sensitivity.