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On a subject of considerable import to the laser-induced damage community, a two day workshop on the topic, Thin Film Thermal Conductivity Measurement was held as part of the 13th Symposium on Thermophysical Properties at the University of Colorado in Boulder CO, June 25 and 26, 1997. The Workshop consisted of 4 sessions of 17 oral presentations and two discussion sessions. Two related subjects of interest were covered; 1) methods and problems associated with measuring thermal conductivity ((kappa) ) of thin films, and 2) measuring and (kappa) of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond. On the subject of thin film (kappa) measurement, several recently developed imaginative techniques were reviewed. However, several authors disagreed on how much (kappa) in a film differs from (kappa) in a bulk material of the same nominal composition. A subject of controversy was the definition of an interface. In the first discussion session, several questions were addressed, a principal one being, how do we know that the values of (kappa) we obtain are correct and is there a role for standards in thin film (kappa) measurement. The second discussion session was devoted to a round-robin interlaboratory comparison of (kappa) measurements on a set of CVD diamond specimens and several other specimens of lower thermal conductivity. Large interlaboratory differences obtained in an earlier round robin had been attributed to specimen inhomogeneity. Unfortunately, large differences were also observed in the second round robin even though the specimens were more homogenous. There was good consistency among the DC measurements, however, the AC measurements showed much greater variability. There was positive feedback from most of the attenders regarding the Workshop with nearly all respondents recommending another Workshop in three or fewer years. There was general recognition that thin film thermal conductivity measurements are important for predicting the resistance of optical coating materials to laser damage.
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