Abstract
An experimental method for measuring thermal boundary resistances of thermoelectrics/metal interfaces using two specially designed multilayer structures is presented. The thermal boundary resistances of Bi 0.4 Sb 1.6 Te 3 thin films in contact with respective Ni and Ti metal layers are experimentally determined to be 2.65 ± 0.98 × 10 -8 and 2.85 ± 1.06 × 10 -8 m 2 K/W. The results agree reasonably well with the predictions from the diffusive mismatch model for Bi 0.4 Sb 1.6 Te 3 /metal interfaces. The effect of phonon transport property of metals on thermal boundary resistance at thermoelectrics/metal interfaces is investigated.