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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

The Frequency Domain Thermoreflectance Technique for Thermal Property Measurements
Published on: December 5, 2025
Measuring temperature gradients over nanometer length scales
Eric A Hoffmann1, Henrik A Nilsson, Jason E Matthews
1Physics Department, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1274, USA. ehoffma1@uoregon.edu
Abstract:
When a quantum dot is subjected to a thermal gradient, the temperature of electrons entering the dot can be determined from the dot's thermocurrent if the conductance spectrum and background temperature are known. We demonstrate this technique by measuring the temperature difference across a 15 nm quantum dot embedded in a nanowire. This technique can be used when the dot's energy states are separated by many kT and will enable future quantitative investigations of electron-phonon interaction, nonlinear thermoelectric effects, and the efficiency of thermoelectric energy conversion in quantum dots.
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