Thermal Conductivity of Encased Graphene

Understanding the thermal properties of graphene is important for the future graphene-based nanoelectronics, interconnects, and heat management structures, as well as fundamental physics. We use a ``heat spreader method'' to experimentally study the heat dissipation along graphene layers encased between two oxide layers and interpret the results by a 3-dimensional finite element method (FEM). The thermal conductivity of encased graphene layers is less than that of graphite, and increases with temperature and the number of layers.