Reduction in thermal boundary conductance due to proton implantation in silicon and sapphire

We measure the thermal boundary conductance across Al/Si and $Al/Al2O3$ interfaces that are subjected to varying doses of proton ion implantation with time domain thermoreflectance. The proton irradiation creates a major reduction in the thermal boundary conductance that is much greater than the corresponding decrease in the thermal conductivities of both the Si and $Al2O3$ substrates into which the ions were implanted. Specifically, the thermal boundary conductances decrease by over an order of magnitude, indicating that proton irradiation presents a unique method to systematically decrease the thermal boundary conductance at solid interfaces.