Thermal conduction from microcantilever heaters in partial vacuum

This paper reports the thermal and electrical characteristics of a heated microcantilever in air and helium over a wide range of pressures. The cantilever heater size modulates thermal conductance between the cantilever and its gaseous surroundings; and the Knudsen number, Kn characterizes this thermal conductance. When $Kn<1$⁠, thermal transport from the cantilever heater depends on gas pressure, and when $Kn>1$⁠, thermal transport from the cantilever heater remains constant. This measurement of thermal conductance around $Kn=1$ could aid the design and analysis of Pirani sensors and other microscale thermal sensors and actuators.