Thermal Boundary Conductance at Metal-Graphene-Metal Interfaces Using Time-Domain Thermoreflectance Method

Thermal boundary conductance (TBC) at Ti-graphene-Ti and Au-graphene-Au interfaces was measured using time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR). Graphene grown on Cu foil by chemical vapor deposition was transferred to metallized Si substrates and TDTR was performed following the deposition of a top metal contact to form the metal-graphene-metal sandwiched structure. The results show that TBC was reduced at Au-graphene-Au interface in comparison to Au-Au interface and the value was similar to TBC measured at Au-HOPG interface. TBC at Ti-graphene-Ti interface was measured to be in the same range as Ti-Ti interface. This result is believed to be due to formation of oxide on surface of Ti, but further investigation is required. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental study of TBC in metal-graphene-metal architecture.