Substrate-supported thermometry platform for nanomaterials like graphene, nanotubes, and nanowires

We demonstrate a substrate-supported thermometry platform to measure thermal conduction in nanomaterials like graphene, with no need to suspend them. We use three-dimensional simulations and careful uncertainty analysis to optimize the platform geometry and to obtain the sample thermal conductivity. The lowest thermal sheet conductance that can be sensed with <50% error is ~25 nW/K at room temperature, indicating applicability of this platform to graphene or polymer thin films, nanotube or nanowire arrays, even a single Si nanowire. The platform can also be extended to plastic substrates, and could find wide applicability in circumstances where fabrication challenges and low yield associated with suspended platforms must be avoided.