Time-resolved photothermal deflection measurements of thermophysical properties of solid materials with step optical excitation

Abstract
Thermal properties of solid samples have been measured using recently developed time-resolved photothermal deflection spectrometry with step optical excitation. Thermal diffusivity can be measured directly, and thermal effusivity may be obtained by using a reference sample. Consequently, the thermal conductivity and the unit volume specific heat of a sample can be deduced from the measured thermal diffusivity and effusivity. The experimental results are in good agreement with literature values, indicating the time-resolved photothermal deflection spectrometry with step optical excitation is a very rigorous method in measuring thermophysical properties of solid materials.