Improving the interfacial thermal conductance between Cr–Ni alloy and dielectric by a metal interlayer

As the size of transistors in electronic devices continues to shrink and power density increases, the effective thermal management has become essential. The interfacial thermal resistance now represents a key bottleneck in further miniaturizing and powering high-performance electronic products. In this study, we used the differential 3ω method to investigate the effects of different metal interlayers on the interfacial thermal conductance of the Cr0.22Ni0.78/Al2O3 interface. Specifically, a Cu interlayer of 17 nm or a Cr interlayer of 5 nm doubled the interfacial thermal conductance (ITC) compared to that of the pure Cr0.22Ni0.78/Al2O3 interface. In contrast, the Au interlayer reduces the ITC of the Cr0.22Ni0.78/Al2O3 interface. Furthermore, the phonon spectral analysis revealed that the Cu or Cr interlayer acts as a phonon bridge, alleviating the phonon mismatch between the Cr0.22Ni0.78 and Al2O3 layers. This study advances the understanding of the interlayer effects on the ITC of Cr0.22Ni0.78/Al2O3 interface and provides valuable guidance for improving the ITC between metal and dielectric materials in electronic applications.