The thermal conductivity of sputtered a-Si:H thin films for a hydrogen
content of 1-20 % and a film thickness of 0.2-1.5 mum is determined i
n the temperature range 80-400 K using an extension of the 3w measurem
ent technique. The reliability of the method is demonstrated on 1-mum-
thick a-SiO2 thermally grown on Si. Scattering of phonons at the inter
face between the a-Si:H film and the substrate places a simple upper l
imit on the heat transport by long-wavelength phonons and facilitates
the comparison of the experimental data to recent numerical solutions
of a Kubo formula using harmonic vibrations.