Heat Beneath the Surface: Thermal Metrology for Advanced Semiconductor Materials and Nanoscale Structures
This White Paper provides engineers and researchers with a comprehensive overview of how rising power density, 3D integration, and novel materials are fundamentally reshaping thermal design — and why advanced metrology is now essential for reliable semiconductor development.
What you will learn about:
- Why heat has become the dominant constraint on semiconductor scaling, with AI accelerator heat flux projections exceeding 1000 W/cm² and thermal design power surpassing the kilowatt regime
- How nanoscale thin films, engineered ultra-high-conductivity materials, and wide-bandgap devices operating above 200 °C are invalidating bulk thermal assumptions and demanding new measurement approaches
- Why thermal boundary resistance at bonded interfaces, Thermal Interface Material (TIM) layers, and buried dielectric stacks now act as a first-order reliability accelerator in 3D stacked and heterogeneously integrated architectures
- How to implement a thermal-first design workflow that integrates measured, scale-appropriate thermal properties early in the design cycle to calibrate models and reduce costly late-stage failures
Click “LOOK INSIDE” to download the PDF.
Physics Today and Wiley are proud to bring you this white paper, sponsored by Laser Thermal.
More Information
As semiconductor architectures evolve beyond classical transistor scaling toward heterogeneous integration, 3D stacking, and chiplet-based design, heat transport across materials and interfaces has become increasingly difficult to predict and critically important to measure. Power densities in AI accelerators and high-performance computing systems now routinely exceed 500 W/cm², while novel materials such as diamond, boron arsenide, and boron nitride nanotubes push thermal conductivity well beyond conventional limits. At the same time, nanoscale thin films, buried bonding layers, and vertically integrated device structures create thermal regimes where legacy measurement techniques and bulk-property assumptions no longer apply. This guide examines the industrial and scientific developments driving this transition and outlines a practical framework for embedding accurate thermal metrology into the design process from the earliest stages.
Sponsored by
Partnered with
Physics Today, the flagship publication of the American Institute of Physics, is the most influential and closely followed physics magazine in the world. Physics Today‘s mission is to be a unifying influence on the physical sciences by cultivating a shared understanding, appreciation, and sense of belonging among physical scientists.