Improvement of Thermal Contact Conductance at Interface between Two Solid Samples by Using Thin Metal Films on the Sample Surface

Three different techniques for improving the thermal contact conductance between two solid samples were tested ; plating a metal on the surface of the samples, inserting a thin metal plate between the samples, and spattering a silver film on the surface of the samples. The plated metal was not successful since the surface of each sample was chasged into a concave shape that reduced the real contact area between them. On the other hand, the inserted metal plate was successful to improve the contact conductance if its hysteresis was negligible. We also found that the spattered silver film was the most effective way to improve the contact conductance in the tested techniques.