Evaluation of thermal conductivity of single carbon nanotube in liquid and air using photofabricated fluorescence microsensors

We proposed measurement of thermal conductivity of a single carbon nanotube (CNT) using fluorescence temperature sensor in liquid and air. The sensor containing fluorescence dye is used for fixation of CNT, local heat by Joule-heating, and measurement of temperature distribution. The CNT is fixed to the sensors during photofabrication. Thermal conductivity of the fixed CNT is evaluated by the temperature difference between the both ends of CNT, heat quantity of input to the CNT. In this paper, we demonstrated fabrication of evaluation system using photolithography and measurement of thermal conductivity of the single CNT in liquid and air condition. As experimental results, calculated thermal conductivity of the CNT in air (765 ± 45 [W/mK]) is higher than that of the CNT in water (489 ± 60 [W/mK]).