PUMP-PROBE THERMOREFLECTANCE
Abstract
Pump-probe thermoreflectance is an optical technique used to measure heat transfer in bulk materials and micro- and nanoscale samples. The measurement typically uses two light sources, referred to as the pump and the probe. The pump generates a time-dependent heat flux at the sample surface, while the probe monitors the temperature response through a proportional change in surface reflectivity. Combined with a heat transfer model, the measured temperature response is used to infer transport properties such as the cross-plane thermal conductivity, in-plane thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and the thermal boundary conductance between materials. The measurement has diffraction-limited lateral spatial resolution and is effective on bulk materials and films as thin as a few nanometers. This chapter begins with a nonexhaustive overview of pump-probe thermoreflectance tailored to the measurement of heat transfer in small scale. This is followed by a description of the experimental setup and data analysis used in typical implementations of time- and frequency-domain thermoreflectance, and then a discussion on the measurement of in-plane and cross-plane heat transfer in bulk materials and thin films.
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TDTR requires minimal sample preparation and no delicate design of electrical heaters or temperature sensors.
“For example, it requires minimal sample preparation and no delicate design of electrical heaters or temperature sensors, and it works equally well in regular ambient conditions or through the window of a vacuum chamber. 48”
From Tutorial: Time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) for thermal property characterization of bulk and thin film materials (2018) · cites this paper as [48]
TDTR works equally well in regular ambient conditions or through the window of a vacuum chamber.
“For example, it requires minimal sample preparation and no delicate design of electrical heaters or temperature sensors, and it works equally well in regular ambient conditions or through the window of a vacuum chamber. 48”
From Tutorial: Time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) for thermal property characterization of bulk and thin film materials (2018) · cites this paper as [48]
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- Authors
- Schmidt, A. J.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Schmidt, Aaron J.
- ORCID
- Schmidt, Aaron J.
- Venue
- Annual Review of Heat Transfer
- Publisher
- Begell House
- Published
- 2013
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 159-181
- ISSN
- 1049-0787 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2315784699
- Cited by
- 74
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 1.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annual Reviews of Heat Transfer (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Thermal properties of materials
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanics of Materials › Thermography and Photoacoustic Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies
- Keywords
- heat transfer measurement, through-plane thermal conductivity, in-plane thermal conductivity, heat capacity, thermal boundary conductance, thin films, nanoscale heat transfer, time-domain thermoreflectance, frequency-domain thermoreflectance, surface reflectance
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