Phononic crystals (PnCs) are the acoustic wave equivalent of photonic crystals, where a periodic array of scattering inclusions located in a homogeneous host material causes certain frequencies to be completely reflected by the structure. In conjunction with creating a phononic band gap, anomalous dispersion accompanied by a large reduction in phonon group velocities can lead to a massive reduction in silicon thermal conductivity. We measured the cross plane thermal conductivity of a series of single crystalline silicon PnCs using time domain thermoreflectance. The measured values are over an order of magnitude lower than those obtained for bulk Si (from 148 W m(-1) K(-1) to as low as 6.8 W m(-1) K(-1)). The measured thermal conductivity is much smaller than that predicted by only accounting for boundary scattering at the interfaces of the PnC lattice, indicating that coherent phononic effects are causing an additional reduction to the cross plane thermal conductivity.

Pump-probe transient thermoreflectance (TTR) techniques are powerful tools for measuring the thermophysical properties of thin films, such as thermal conductivity, Λ, or thermal boundary conductance, G. This paper examines the assumption of one-dimensional heating on, Λ and G, determination in nanostructures using a pump-probe transient thermoreflectance technique. The traditionally used one-dimensional and axially symmetric cylindrical conduction models for thermal transport are reviewed. To test the assumptions of the thermal models, experimental data from Al films on bulk substrates (Si and glass) are taken with the TTR technique. This analysis is extended to thin film multilayer structures. The results show that at 11 MHz modulation frequency, thermal transport is indeed one dimensional. Error among the various models arises due to pulse accumulation and not accounting for residual heating.

In nanosystems, the primary scattering mechanisms occur at the interfaces between the material layers. As such, the structure and composition around these interfaces can affect scattering rates and, therefore, thermal resistances. In this work, we measure the room-temperature thermal boundary conductance of aluminum films grown on silicon substrates subjected to various pre-Al-deposition surface treatments with a pump-probe thermoreflectance technique. The Si surfaces are characterized with atomic force microscopy to determine mean surface roughness. The measured thermal boundary conductances decrease as Si surface roughness increases. In addition, stripping of the native oxide layer from the surface of the Si substrate immediately prior to Al film deposition causes the thermal boundary conductance to increase. The measured data are compared to an extension of the diffuse mismatch model that accounts for interfacial mixing and structure around the interface in order to better elucidate the thermal scattering processes affecting thermal boundary conductance at rough interfaces.

Analysis of the Raman Stokes peak position and its shift has been frequently used to estimate either temperature or stress in microelectronics and microelectromechanical system devices. However, if both fields are evolving simultaneously, the Stokes shift represents a convolution of these effects, making it difficult to measure either quantity accurately. By using the relative independence of the Stokes linewidth to applied stress, it is possible to deconvolve the signal into an estimation of both temperature and stress. Using this property, a method is presented whereby the temperature and stress were simultaneously measured in doped polysilicon microheaters. A data collection and analysis method was developed to reduce the uncertainty in the measured stresses resulting in an accuracy of +/-40 MPa for an average applied stress of -325 MPa and temperature of 520 degrees C. Measurement results were compared to three-dimensional finite-element analysis of the microheaters and were shown to be in excellent agreement. This analysis shows that Raman spectroscopy has the potential to measure both evolving temperature and stress fields in devices using a single optical measurement.

We have developed a system of differential-output monitors that diagnose current and voltage in the vacuum section of a 20-MA 3-MV pulsed-power accelerator. The system includes 62 gauges: 3 current and 6 voltage monitors that are fielded on each of the accelerator's 4 vacuum-insulator stacks, 6 current monitors on each of the accelerator's 4 outer magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs), and 2 current monitors on the accelerator's inner MITL. The inner-MITL monitors are located 6 cm from the axis of the load. Each of the stack and outer-MITL current monitors comprises two separate B-dot sensors, each of which consists of four 3-mm-diameter wire loops wound in series. The two sensors are separately located within adjacent cavities machined out of a single piece of copper. The high electrical conductivity of copper minimizes penetration of magnetic flux into the cavity walls, which minimizes changes in the sensitivity of the sensors on the 100-ns time scale of the accelerator's power pulse. A model of flux penetration has been developed and is used to correct (to first order) the B-dot signals for the penetration that does occur. The two sensors are designed to produce signals with opposite polarities; hence, each current monitor may be regarded as a single detector with differential outputs. Common-mode-noise rejection is achieved by combining these signals in a 50-balun. The signal cables that connect the B-dot monitors to the balun are chosen to provide reasonable bandwidth and acceptable levels of Compton drive in the bremsstrahlung field of the accelerator. A single 50-cable transmits the output signal of each balun to a double-wall screen room, where the signals are attenuated, digitized (0:5-ns=sample), numerically compensated for cable losses, and numerically integrated. By contrast, each inner-MITL current monitor contains only a single B-dot sensor. These monitors are fielded in opposite-polarity pairs. The two signals from a pair are not combined in a balun; they are instead numerically processed for common-mode-noise rejection after digitization. All the current monitors are calibrated on a 76-cmdiameter axisymmetric radial transmission line that is driven by a 10-kA current pulse. The reference current is measured by a current-viewing resistor (CVR). The stack voltage monitors are also differentialoutput gauges, consisting of one 1.8-cm-diameter D-dot sensor and one null sensor. Hence, each voltage monitor is also a differential detector with two output signals, processed as described above. The voltage monitors are calibrated in situ at 1.5 MVon dedicated accelerator shots with a short-circuit load. Faraday's law of induction is used to generate the reference voltage: currents are obtained from calibrated outer-MITL B-dot monitors, and inductances from the system geometry. In this way, both current and voltage measurements are traceable to a single CVR. Dependable and consistent measurements are thus obtained with this system of calibrated diagnostics. On accelerator shots that deliver 22 MA...

In this work, we examine Fermi relaxation in 20 nm Au films with pump-probe themoreflectance using a thin film, intraband thermoreflectance model. Our results indicate that the Fermi relaxation of a perturbed electron system occurs approximately 1.10±0.05 ps after absorption of a 785 nm, 185 fs laser pulse. This is in agreement with reported values from electron emission experiments but is higher than the Fermi relaxation time determined from previous thermoreflectance measurements. This discrepancy arises due to thermoreflectance modeling and elucidates the importance of the use of a proper thermoreflectance model for thermophysical property determination in pump-probe experiments.

Thermal transport across one-dimensional atomic chains is studied using a harmonic nonequilibrium Green's function formalism in the ballistic phonon transport regime. Introducing a mass impurity in the chain and mass loading in the thermal contacts leads to interference of phonon waves, which can be manipulated by varying the magnitude of the loading. This shows that thermal rectification is tunable in a completely harmonic system. Atomistic control in nanostructures has enabled key studies of thermal transport that have demonstrated the potential for phonon control and manipulation in thermal devices. The recent experimental realization 1 of a thermal rectifier mass graded nanotube has been accompanied by several studies in anharmonic one-dimensional ͑1D͒ atomic chains in an attempt to understand the origin 2-4 and extent of applicability 5,6 of thermal rectification ͑i.e., asymmetric heat conduction where heat flows "easier" in one direction than it does in the opposite direction͒. Recent work examining thermal transport in harmonic chains in the diffuse thermal regime did not exhibit thermal rectification. 7 In this Rapid Communication, we examine thermal transport in asymmetric harmonic chains in the ballistic phonon transport regime with a nonequilibrium Green's function ͑NEGF͒ formalism and demonstrate evidence of thermal rectification from phonon-scattering events stemming from phonon wave interference that parallels photon interference in an asymmetric Fabry-Pérot interferometer. We attribute the rectification observed in the asymmetric harmonic chains to localized modes that are unable to propagate the length of the chain before escaping to into the thermal reservoirs, similar to the gradons discussed in by Xiao et al. 8 Our model of the 1D harmonic chain, based on the NEGF formalism 9 for phonons, 10-14 is separated into three regions, as shown in Fig. 1͑a͒. The left and right contact regions, treated as semi-infinite, impose boundary conditions on the N-atom channel region, in which the thermal transport is studied. The left and right contacts impose inflow and outflow in the channel, ⌺ in and ⌺ out , which are the self energies of the left or right contacts, 9 depending on the direction of the thermal current, and are related to the harmonic transport in the contacts and the connection at the channel-contact interface. The harmonic spring constants, K i in the channel, are related to the harmonic forces between the masses, M i , in the channel. The Green's function of the channel is given by 9 G = ͓M 2 − K − ⌺ in − ⌺ out ͔ −1 where M is a diagonal matrix of the masses in the channel, is the phonon angular frequency, and K is a tridiagonal matrix of spring constants, where the main diagonal represents the restoring force of the atom in position i and the two off-diagonal terms represent the forces from the atoms in position i − 1 and i + 1 acting on atom in position i. The left and right contacts cause energylevel broadening at the contact-channel interface described by ⌫ in/out = i͓⌺ in/out − ⌺ in/out...

Thermal boundary resistance dominates the thermal resistance in nanosystems since material length scales are comparable to material mean free paths. The primary scattering mechanism in nanosystems is interface scattering, and the structure and composition around these interfaces can affect scattering rates and, therefore, device thermal resistances. In this work, the thermal boundary conductance (the inverse of the thermal boundary resistance) is measured using a pump-probe thermoreflectance technique on aluminum films grown on silicon substrates that are subjected to various pre-Al-deposition surface treatments. The Si surfaces are characterized with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to determine mean surface roughness. The measured thermal boundary conductance decreases as Si surface roughness increases. In addition, stripping the native oxide layer on the surface of the Si substrate immediately prior to Al film deposition causes the thermal boundary conductance to increase. The measured data are then compared to an extension of the diffuse mismatch model that accounts for interfacial mixing and structure around the interface.