Thermal properties of SnSe nanoflakes by AFM-based Scanning Thermal Microscopy measurements

We investigated the thermal resistance of SnSe nanoflakes using scanning thermal microscopy, an extension of atomic force microscopy that allows for nanoscale thermal mapping. The nanoflakes studied ranged in thickness from 5 nm to 40 nm, enabling us to observe the thermal properties across a wide range of dimensions. Our results show a clear trend: as the thickness of the nanoflakes increases, the thermal resistance also increases. This suggests that diffusive mechanisms govern heat transport in SnSe nanoflakes and follow Fourier’s law of heat conduction. The observed behavior can be attributed to the inherently short phonon mean free path in SnSe which is on the order of 5 nm at room temperature.