Abstract
This work reports experimental studies of the thermal conductivity of alloy-based superlattices. Cross-plane thermal conductivity of a Si/Si/sub 0.71/Ge/sub 0.29/ (50 /spl Aring//10 /spl Aring/) superlattice is measured based on the 3/spl omega/ method. The measured thermal conductivity of this superlattice is 2-3 times smaller than that calculated from the Fourier heat conduction. This reduction in thermal conductivity is smaller than those observed in pure Si/Ge superlattices, possibly due to the smaller mismatch of the material properties between Si and Si/sub 0.71/Ge/sub 0.29/ as compared to between Si and Ge. To extend the 3/spl omega/ method for measuring both the cross-plane and the in-plane thermal conductivity of superlattices, a 2-wire 3/spl omega/ method is developed. Preliminary experimental results are reported for a AlAs/Al/sub 0.62/Ga/sub 0.38/As (455 /spl Aring//410 /spl Aring/) thick layer superlattice based on this method.