Interlayer Thermal Conductivity of Rubrene Measured by ac-Calorimetry

TL;DR

This study measures the interlayer thermal conductivity of rubrene crystals using ac-calorimetry, revealing a value much lower than in-layer conductivity and insights into phonon mean free paths.

Contribution

It extends ac-calorimetry techniques to measure transverse thermal conductivity in poor thermal conductors like rubrene.

Findings

Interlayer thermal conductivity of rubrene is 0.7 mW/cm K.

Interlayer mean free path is at least a few layers.

Technique limitations for measuring poor thermal conductors are discussed.

Abstract

We have measured the interlayer thermal conductivity of crystals of the organic semiconductor rubrene, using ac-calorimetry. Since ac-calorimetry is most commonly used for measurements of the heat capacity, we include a discussion of its extension for measurements of the transverse thermal conductivity of thin crystals of poor thermal conductors, including the limitations of the technique. For rubrene, we find that the interlayer thermal conductivity, 0.7 mW/cm K, is several times smaller than the (previously measured) in-layer value, but its temperature dependence indicates that the interlayer mean free path is at least a few layers.