An ac microcalorimeter for measuring specific heat of thin films
Song Q., Cui Z., Xia S., Chen S.
Microcalorimeter based on suspended SiO2 membrane structures has been designed and fabricated. The geometry of suspension arms is optimized by ANSYS simulation to ensure that it provides maximum thermal isolation between the membrane structure and the supporting substrate. The microcalorimeter is intended to be a sample carrier onto which other thin films can be deposited for thermal property measurement. An ac modulation method has been used to measure the specific heat of aluminum thin film with thickness from 13.5 to 370 nm. The measurements demonstrated clearly the dependence of specific heat on thin film thickness. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.