Measuring thermal properties becomes significantly more difficult as materials and devices shrink. Conventional techniques like laser flash or guarded hot plate work well for bulk samples, but they rely on assumptions that break down at smaller scales. Thin films, interfaces, and multilayer structures introduce thermal effects that are not captured by bulk measurements. In many...
Introduction As semiconductors continue to improve, thermal management becomes increasingly critical. Current semiconductor devices are certainly stronger, smaller, and higher in power densities than previously created devices. However, semiconductor performance deteriorates in the presence of excessive heat, with overall inefficiencies followed by complete failures or device breakdown. The data to predict these failures comes from...
In a significant boost for semiconductor research and development, Laser Thermal has announced a new collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Charlottesville-based company has been awarded a contract to supply NIST with its groundbreaking thermal conductivity testing instrument, the Steady State Thermoreflectance in Fiber (SSTR-F). This partnership is set to...
Laser Thermal’s SSTR-F elevates the University of Maryland’s NEIT lab and beyond Laser Thermal has made significant strides in the thermal measurement field by using optical technologies to simplify and shorten the measurement process. This innovation is crucial for industries where thermal management is a significant challenge. A company’s ability to perform thermal measurements at...
Unveiling Laser Thermal’s Innovative Solutions Thermal metrology plays a critical role in a wide variety of industries, from electronics to manufacturing, ensuring the reliability and efficiency of products. However, traditional thermal measurement practices can be time-consuming, complex, and often require specialized knowledge. That’s why the researchers at Laser Thermal developed SSTR-F: the world’s first steady...
In this blog, we provide an overview of thermal boundary resistance, why understanding it is critical when engineering semiconductor devices, some critical challenges for interfacial thermal metrology, and how thermal testing services can help. What is thermal boundary resistance? Thermal boundary resistance is simply a measure of resistance to heat flow at the interface between...
A summary of some of the biggest trends for the semiconductor industry heading into 2023.
A summary of some of the biggest trends for the semiconductor industry heading into 2023.
Traditional thermal metrology techniques cannot be relied upon to generate reliable thermal resistance data for thin film materials.
Traditional thermal metrology techniques cannot be relied upon to generate reliable thermal resistance data for thin film materials.
| Literature Value | TPS Measurement | SSTR-F Measurement | |
| Pyroceram 9606 | 4.07 +/- .26 | 3.95 | 3.95 +/- 0.2 |
| HPFS 7980 | 1.38 | 1.39 | 1.39 +/- 0.09 |
20 SSTR-F measurements at same spot
20 SSTR-F measurements at random spots
SSTR-F data on 4 different 200 nm dielectric films on silicon with thermal conductivity ranging from ~0.35 W/m/K up to 1.8 W/m/K. SSTR-F allows for easy, rapid and automated identification of different temperature rises based on the thermal conductivity of the different films.
SSTR measurements on ALD grown ultrathin film amorphous gate dielectrics (compared to TDTR) (source).
SSTR measurements of AlN crystalline thin films.2 SSTR data (temperature rise vs. power) on right for AlN film and silicon wafer control.