APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:
- Thermal conductivity measurement tools
- Evaluation of thermal performance of electronics, thermal barrier coatings, batteries
- Electronic packaging
BENEFITS:
- Able to measure a wide range of thermal conductivities
- Accurate and applicable to a wide range of substrates
BACKGROUND:
The 3ω technique is a well-established method used to measure thermal conductivity of materials and thermal resistance of interfaces. This technique has the ability to provide spatially resolved thermal properties over a wide range of thermal conductivity, but so far has been limited to lab-scale use due to the difficulty in fabrication, and has limits on the substrates it can measure.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW:
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a method of applying reusable 3ω sensors fabricated on flexible polyimide films to measure bulk and spatially resolved thermal properties. With this method, sample thermal conductivities up to 200 W/mK can be measured with high accuracy. Rather than fabricating the sensor on the sample, a sensor that is attached to the sample with a thermal paste is fabricated. Therefore, this technique is widely applicable to both metallic and non-metallic substrates, providing a method for high throughput 3ω measurements with reusable sensors and without considerable sample preparation.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE:
Full-scale, similar (prototypical) system demonstrated in relevant environment
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS:
Divya Chalise
IP Status: Patent pending
Additional information: Rev. Sci. Instrum. 94, 094901 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0151160
OPPORTUNITIES: Available for licensing or collaborative research
