Applications of Our Instruments

Thin films demand thermal characterization at a level that bulk techniques can’t reach. Interfacial resistance, nanostructure effects, and anisotropy all influence performance; but they are often invisible to conventional methods especially at the nanoscale. FASTR is designed to probe these interactions by enabling extraction of thermal conductivity, boundary resistance, and heat capacity in nanostructured layers. Its high spatial and depth resolution is well suited to layered heterostructures, superlattices, and emerging devices where conventional bulk methods fail to capture relevant behavior.

Performance of TIMs depends heavily on through-thickness thermal conductivity and interfacial quality. TOPS provides steady-state, through-plane measurements optimized for soft pads, gels, and thermally conductive plastics—especially in low-k and compressible formulations. For ultra-thin or high-performance TIMs, FASTR enables quantification of thermal boundary resistance and volumetric heat capacity, supporting design validation and comparative screening under realistic conditions.

Accurate thermal conductivity data is essential when designing materials that block or slow heat transfer—whether for energy efficiency, personal protection, or aerospace-grade performance. Yet many insulation products, such as foams, aerogels, and fibrous composites, challenge conventional techniques due to their porosity, compressibility, or non-uniform geometry. TOPS provides fast, steady-state measurements of through-plane thermal conductivity without requiring specific sample dimensions or surface finishes. Its ability to map spatial variability makes it ideal for screening insulation foams, evaluating inhomogeneities, and validating material performance under realistic conditions. For thin barrier layers or coatings applied to insulation systems, FASTR enables nanoscale thermal property analysis, including interfacial resistance and heat capacity to support advanced modeling and multilayer design.

Phase change materials are increasingly used in electronics, packaging, textiles, and building systems to regulate temperature through latent heat absorption. But their dynamic behavior, specially across phase transitions, makes characterization of thermal properties complex. TOPS provides steady-state measurement of thermal conductivity in both solid and semi-fluid states, making it ideal for quantifying PCM performance before, during, and after transition. Its compatibility with soft, gel-like, or irregularly shaped samples simplifies testing and accelerates formulation development. For thin-film PCMs or multi-layer integrations, FASTR enables localized measurement of heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and interfacial resistance and supports materials research, thermal modeling, and system-level integration where phase behavior is critical.

From smartphones to power modules, effective thermal management is critical to reliability and performance. Whether dissipating heat through thermal interface materials, spreading it laterally across substrates, or insulating sensitive components, engineers require precise thermal property data to design and optimize cooling strategies. FASTR delivers detailed, layer-specific measurements of thermal conductivity, boundary resistance, and heat capacity in microelectronic stacks. TOPS complements this by characterizing thermal pads, gap fillers, and insulating structures at the bulk scale. Its steady-state, through-thickness methodology ensures realistic evaluation of materials used between chips, heat spreaders, and enclosures. Together, FASTR and TOPS enable a comprehensive approach to evaluating and optimizing thermal pathways within electronic assemblies.

Whether in corporate R&D environments or university labs, the ability to rapidly characterize thermal transport properties across different length scales is critical to material innovation. Both FASTR and TOPS are turnkey systems that eliminate the operational complexity of legacy techniques. Researchers iterate faster and accelerate analysis since they benefit from direct, repeatable data across thin films, bulk polymers, composites, and nanostructured systems. TOPS supports measurement of foams, filled polymers, and multi-phase composites even where conventional techniques are unreliable because of samples’ geometry and surface variability . FASTR expands this capability to thin films, nanoengineered structures, and emerging 2D materials, enabling fundamental studies of heat transport mechanisms at the micro- and nanoscale.