# Optomechanics for thermal characterization of suspended graphene

## TL;DR

This paper uses optomechanical techniques to measure the thermal response of suspended graphene membranes, revealing discrepancies with classical models and proposing a boundary resistance model for better understanding.

## Contribution

It introduces a noninvasive optomechanical method to characterize thermal properties of suspended graphene and accounts for boundary resistance to explain observed delays.

## Key findings

- Measured delay times are larger than predicted by classical models.
- A boundary resistance model explains the discrepancy in thermal response.
- Provides a new approach for thermal characterization of atomically thin membranes.

## Abstract

Thermal properties of suspended single-layer graphene membranes are investigated by characterization of their mechanical motion in response to a high-frequency modulated laser. A characteristic delay time $\tau$ between the optical intensity and mechanical motion is observed, which is attributed to the time required to raise the temperature of the membrane. We find, however, that the measured time constants are significantly larger than the predicted ones based on values of the specific heat and thermal conductivity. In order to explain the discrepancy between measured and modeled tau, a model is proposed that takes a thermal boundary resistance at the edge of the graphene drum into account. The measurements provide a noninvasive way to characterize thermal properties of suspended atomically thin membranes, providing information that can be hard to obtain by other means.