Lateral heat diffusion in layered structures: Theory and photothermal experiments

It is very important to understand how the heat diffuses in the case of nano objects and of layered structures. We will demonstrate that the lateral diffusion could be very different in the case of a good conductor layer deposited on a bad one and for the reverse (bad one on good substrate). Moreover, we will show how a thermoreflectance experiment can reveal both the thermal conductivity and the thermal diffusivity of thin layers deposited on substrates.