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Updated: Jan 15, 2026
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The Frequency Domain Thermoreflectance Technique for Thermal Property Measurements
Published on: December 5, 2025
529
A frequency-modulated 3ω method (FM-3ω) for thermal conductivity measurements.
Aidan Belanger1, Zlatan Akšamija1
1Materials Science and Engineering Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0063, USA.
The Review of Scientific Instruments
|January 14, 2026
Summary
A new frequency-modulated 3ω (FM-3ω) method directly measures thermal conductivity derivatives, reducing measurement time from hours to minutes. This innovation accelerates thermal transport science for thin films and multilayer structures.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Thermal Transport
Background:
- The 3ω technique is standard for measuring thermal conductivity in various materials.
- Traditional methods require extensive frequency sweeps and data processing, which is time-consuming and prone to noise amplification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a faster and more accurate method for thermal conductivity measurements.
- To eliminate post-processing steps in the 3ω technique.
Main Methods:
- Developed a frequency-modulated 3ω (FM-3ω) method.
- Sinusoidally varied the excitation current's frequency (ω) over time.
- Directly measured the derivative of the 3ω signal.
Main Results:
- Reduced measurement time from hours to minutes.
- Achieved comparable accuracy to traditional methods on sapphire and borofloat 33 samples.
- Demonstrated agreement between FM-3ω results and traditional linear fit methods.
Conclusions:
- The FM-3ω method offers a significant advancement in thermal conductivity measurements.
- This technique increases the ease and pace of characterizing thin films and multilayer structures.
- Frequency modulation and tandem demodulation provide direct temperature derivative measurement.
