Thermal Diffusivity Measurement of Two-Layer Optical Thin-Film Systems Using Photoacoustic Effect1

In this study, we designed and developed two-layer antireflection (AR) optical coating samples on glass substrates, using different evaporation conditions of coating rates and substrate temperatures for two dielectric materials, MgF₂ and ZnS, with different refractive indices. The through-plane thermal diffusivity of these systems was measured using the photoacoustic effect. The optical thicknesses of MgF₂ and ZnS layers were fixed at 5/4 (=514.5 nm) and , respectively, and the thermal diffusivities of the samples were obtained from the measured amplitude of the photoacoustic signals by changing the chopping frequency of the Ar⁺ laser beam. The results demonstrated that the thermal diffusivity of the sample fabricated under the conditions of 10Å·s^–1 and 150°C had the maximum value and that the results were directly related to the microstructure of the film system.     

Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity at Low Temperatures Using an Optical Reflectivity Technique

An experimental arrangement has been developed for measuring the transient temperature responses and the thermal diffusivities of foil materials in the range of 10 to 300K by using the optical reflectivity technique. The cryogenic system with optical windows is designed to provide temperatures from 10 to 300 K. The front surface of a foil specimen is heated by a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. In situ measurement of the reflectivity of a continuous-wave He–Ne laser at the rear surface is conducted on the microsecond time scale. Using the temperature dependence of reflectivity, the transient temperature response is deduced. The thermal diffusivity is obtained by fitting Parker's formulae to the experimental data on temperature rise. Stainless-steel foils are chosen as samples and are studied in the region from 10 to 300 K. The accuracy is examined by comparing the present results with the theoretical temperature responses and thermal diffusivity data from the literature. Good agreement is observed.     

Measurement of the Thermal Diffusivity of Solids with an Improved Accuracy

A photothermal radiometry technique is being developed at the NPL with the goal of improving the accuracy of thermal diffusivity measurements. The principle is to perform a laser-induced thermal experiment while simultaneously making accurate measurements of the experimental boundary conditions. A numerical three-dimensional heat diffusion model based on thermal transfer functions has been developed to account for the measured boundary conditions. The thermal diffusivity is determined from the experimental data by a nonlinear, least-squares fit to the model. Experiments carried out on pure metals at 900 K demonstrate good agreement between the theoretical predictions and experimental data, and uncertainties of about 1.5% for the thermal diffusivities of platinum, titanium, and germanium were obtained.     

Measurements of Thermal Diffusivity of Impurity-Helium Solids

Thermal diffusivity of the Kr- and N₂-impurity-helium solids (IHS) has been measured for the samples, immersed into liquid helium in the temperature range of 2.2–4.2 K. It has been found that the thermal diffusivity for both solids does not differ from that of liquid helium when the convection is absent even for the case when the samples were compact 10 times as compared to their initial volume. It should be emphasized that the presence of less than 0.5% mole fraction of a rare gas in the form of IHS allows us to suppress completely any convection in liquid helium (this effect was not observed when deuterium was used as an impurity). IHS can be used as a specific porous medium for investigations of critical phenomena of the He-I–He-II phase transition, as the He-aerogel systems.     

Measurement of the In-plane Thermal Diffusivity and Temperature-Dependent Convection Coefficient Using a Transient Fin Model and Infrared Thermography

The transient fin model introduced recently for determination of the in-plane thermal diffusivity of planar samples with the help of infrared thermography was modified so as to be applicable to poor heat conductors. The new model now includes a temperature-dependent heat loss by convective heat transfer, suitable for an experimental setup in which the sample is aligned parallel to a weak, forced air flow stabilizing otherwise the convective heat transfer. The temperature field in the sample was measured with an infrared camera while the sample was heated at one edge. The symmetric temperature field created was averaged over the central fifth of the sample to obtain one-dimensional temperature profiles, both transient and stationary, which were fitted by a numerical solution of the fin model. One of the fitting parameters was the thermal diffusivity, and with a known density and specific heat capacity, the thermal conductivity was thus determined. The test measurements with tantalum samples gave the result (57.5 ± 0.2) W · m⁻¹ · K⁻¹ in excellent agreement with the known value. The other fitting parameter was a temperature-dependent heat loss coefficient from which the lower limit for the temperature-dependent convection coefficient was determined. For the stationary state the result was (1.0 ± 0.2) W · m⁻² · K⁻¹ at the temperature of the flowing air, and its temperature dependence was found to be (0.22 ± 0.01) W ·m⁻² · K⁻².     

Carrier Diffusivity Measurement in Silicon Wafers Using Free Carrier Absorption

In this article, it has been shown that the modulated free carrier absorption method (MFCA) can be used to determine unambiguously and without contact the carrier diffusivity of semiconductor wafers. The linear dependence of the phase on the distance of pump and probe beams are investigated with computer simulation, and then it has been found that at high frequency the slope of the MFCA phase versus distance depends solely on the carrier diffusivity. Hence, the carrier diffusivity can be extracted from the slope of the phase versus distance. Experiments were carried out on an $n$ -type Si wafer with 7 $\Omega \, \cdot $  cm to 10 $\Omega \, \cdot $  cm resistivity and (525 $\pm $ 20) $\mu $ m thickness. Comparing the experimental fitted results to those by fitting the MFCA amplitude and phase on the pump-probe-beam separation measured at several modulation frequencies to the rigorous three-dimensional carrier diffusion model, the fitted results by both methods agreed well. This shows that the simplified model can be used to determine the carrier diffusivity with high precision.     

A Modified Photoacoustic Piezoelectric Model for Thermal Diffusivity Determination of Solids

The conventional photoacoustic piezoelectric (PAPE) model did not take into account the influence of the piezoelectric transducer (PZT) on the vibrations of the sample, and this approximation brought certain error. In this article, a simple method has been proposed to investigate the vibrations of the sample–PZT combination, and the theory of the PAPE technique has been modified. By introducing an equivalent thickness parameter, the two-layered model has been simplified and an analytical expression for the phase of the PAPE output signal has been obtained. The experimental system has been set up, and the thermal diffusivities of several metal samples have been measured. The experimental results show that the modified model has a higher accuracy than the conventional model.     

A New Pulse Hot Strip Sensor for Measuring Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Diffusivity of Solids

The pulse hot strip method is a newly developed dynamic method to measure the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of solids. It is based on monitoring the temperature response of a sample to a very short heat pulse liberated by a strip heat source. The instrument's uncertainty is estimated to be less than 3% for both quantities.     

Simultaneous Measurement of Specific Heat Capacity, Thermal Conductivity, and Thermal Diffusivity by Thermal Radiation Calorimetry

Thermal radiation calorimetry has been applied to measure the thermal diffusivity of a solid specimen, along with simultaneous measurements of specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. In this calorimeter, a disk-shaped solid specimen whose surfaces are blackened is heated and cooled slowly on one face by irradiation in a vacuum chamber. A quasi-steady-state approximation in which a linear temperature gradient within the specimen was assumed is considered in the analysis. The validity of this approximation was confirmed by the results of computer simulation based on the control-volume method. Measurements of Pyroceram 9606 and Pyrex 7740 by use of thermocouples in the temperature range between 250 and 400°C gave values consistent with those obtained by previous authors, within experimental error, for all three thermophysical properties.     

Measurement of the Thermal Diffusivity of Solids with an Axisymmetrically Positioned Source of Heat Pulse

The pulse method of measurement of the thermal diffusivity of cylindrical samples is considered: an optimum version of normalization of the geometric parameters of a heat pulse, the thicknesses of a cylinder to the radius, and significance of the length of a heat pulse are discussed. The method is realized on an automated experimental setup with simultaneous recording of a thermal signal and the shape and length of a laser pulse. Nonlinear effects are eliminated by decreasing the energy density on the front surface of the sample. The setup presented allows measurement of the thermal diffusivity within a wide range of its values with an error not exceeding 5%. The obtained results of the determination of the thermal diffusivity of Al, Cu, and Fe are presented in comparison with the literature data.     

基于脉冲涡流热成像的面内方向性热扩散率测量

针对导电材料面内方向性热扩散率的测量,提出脉冲涡流热成像法这一新方法。该方法采用感应式脉冲线激励源,在导电试件表面形成沿一定方向的感应涡流,实现局部热激励,在非稳态条件下实现了材料面内方向热扩散率的测量;简单调节试件与线感应激励线圈的角度,就可以快速无损非接触地测量试件在垂直线圈方向上的热扩散率值。对感应线激励下面内热传导及高斯温度分布进行了分析,分别对AISI304不锈钢、纯铁、纯镍3种材料的热扩散率进行了测量,测量结果与手册值相符,偏差小于9.0%,相对扩展不确定度分别为3.18%,3.72%,3.70%。     

Simultaneous Multitemperature Measurements of Thermal Diffusivity and Composition

It has been well established that thermal forcing of disordered multielement metallic alloys results in permanent modification of their thermal transport properties. The mechanism depends on the detail of heating and its duration, and entails rearrangement of the spatial distribution of constituent atoms within the material proper. It presents a serious complication in developing a body of properties data as a function of temperature because establishment of a thermal state for a specimen is often cast into question. A new general technique is presented for simultaneous multiple-temperature measurements of thermal diffusivity and local composition for a single specimen. The specimen is heated steeply into a state of temperature nonuniformity. The measurement is carried out by time-resolved spectroscopy of single-shot laser-produced plasma (LPP) plume emissions; analysis is made of the emissions as a function of position within the laser focal area. The procedure for analysis is presented together with the results for 80 mass% Ni-20 mass% Cr Nichrome specimens.     

Thermal Diffusivity Mapping of Solids by Scanning Photoacoustic Piezoelectric Technique

Quantitative thermal diffusivity mapping of solid samples was achieved using the scanning photoacoustic piezoelectric (PAPE) technique. Based on the frequency-domain PAPE theoretical model, the methodology of the scanning PAPE thermal diffusivity mapping is introduced. An experimental setup capable of spatial and frequency scanning was established. Thermal diffusivity mapping of homogeneous and inhomogeneous samples was carried out. The obtained thermal diffusivity images are consistent with the optical images in image contrast and consistent with the reference values in thermal diffusivity. Results show that the scanning PAPE technique is able to determine the thermal diffusivity distribution of solids, hence providing an effective method for thermal diffusivity mapping.     

激光闪光法测量材料热扩散率标准装置的研制

介绍了材料热扩散率测量标准装置的研制和实验方法,采用参考样品进行了比对,其测量扩展不确定度优于5%.     

Thermal Diffusivity Measurement of Diamond Films1

This paper discusses the short-pulse-flash method developed for thermal diffusivity measurements on thin films. Two kinds of CVD diamond film have been prepared, and their thermal diffusivity in the perpendicular direction has been measured with this method. The measurement errors caused by the surface coating are discussed.     

In-plane Thermal Diffusivity Measurement of Thin Samples Using a Transient Fin Model and Infrared Thermography

A method for determining the in-plane thermal diffusivity of planar samples was constructed. The time-dependent temperature field of the sample heated at one edge was measured with an infrared camera. The temperature fields were averaged for different times over a narrow strip around the center line of the sample, and the temperature profiles for varying time were fitted by a solution to a corresponding one-dimensional heat equation. Heat losses by convective and radiative heat transfer were both included in the model. Two fitting parameters, the thermal diffusivity and the effective heat-loss term, were obtained from time-dependent temperature data by optimization. The ratio of these two parameters was also extracted from the steady-state temperature profile. The method was found to give good and consistent results when tested on copper and aluminum samples.     

Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity of Thermal Control Coatings by the Flash Method Using Two-Layer Composite Sample1

The thermal diffusivity of brittle coatings cannot be measured by the flash method directly because of the difficulty of preparing free-standing samples. Adopting the flash method using a two-layer composite sample, it is possible to measure thermal diffusivity if the radiant pulse is well defined and good thermal contact on the interface of the composite sample can be ensured. Using an equilateral trapezoidal pulse of an Nd-glass laser measuring the dimensionless temperature history of the rear face of the sample, we determined the thermal diffusivity of thermal control coatings in the temperature range of 80 to 200°C. The results for different thicknesses of substrate showed that the thermal contact resistance of the interface can be neglected.