Raman Optothermal Technique for Measuring Thermal Conductivity of Graphene and Related Materials

We describe Raman spectroscopy based method of measuring thermal conductivity of thin films, and review significant results achieved with this technique pertinent to graphene and other two-dimensional materials. The optothermal Raman method was instrumental for the discovery of unique heat conduction properties of graphene. In this method, Raman spectroscopy is used to determine the local temperature of the sample while the excitation laser is utilized as a heat source. The success of Raman spectroscopy in investigating thermal conductivity of suspended graphene and graphene-based thin films motivated extension of this technique to other materials systems and films.