Application of the three omega thermal conductivity measurement method to a film on a substrate of finite thickness

The three omega thermal conductivity measurement method is analyzed for the case of one or more thin films on a substrate of finite thickness. The analysis is used to obtain the thermal conductivities of SiO2 films on Si substrates and of a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond plate. For the case of the SiO2 films on a Si, we find an apparent thickness dependence of the thermal conductivity of the SiO2 films. However, the data can also be explained by a thickness-independent thermal conductivity and an interfacial thermal resistance. For the case of the CVD diamond plate, the fit of the theory to the experimental data is significantly improved if we assume that an interface layer separates the heater from the diamond plate. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)01319-5].