Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Thermally-Oxidized SiO₂ Films on a Silicon Wafer Using a Thermo-Reflectance Technique

Abstract

This paper describes the development of an advanced method to measure the normal-to-plane thermal conductivity of very-thin insulating films. In this method the metal film layer, which is deposited on thin insulating films, is Joule heated periodically and the ac-temperature response at the center of the metal film surface is measured by a thermo-reflectance technique. The one-dimensional thermal conduction equation of the three-layered system was solved analytically, and a quite simple and accurate approximate equation was derived. In this method, calibration factors of the thermo-reflectance coefficient were determined using the known thermal effusivity of the substrate. The present method was examined for thermally-oxidized SiO₂ films (1000--20 nm thick) on a silicon wafer. The present results of the thermal conductivity agree with those of VAMAS TWA23 within ±10%.