Si0.5Ge0.5 and GaAs films grown on Si substrates were used to measure the interface thermal conductance between the films and the substrate. Transient thermoreflectance technique was used with the one-dimensional heat equation to simulate the experimental results. The results showed that the interface thermal conductance of SiGe/Si interface is 100 MW m(-2) K-1 and that of GaAs/Si is 20 MW m(-2) K-1. These values of interface thermal conductance combined with the thermal conductivity of the films were used to conclude that SiGe films are less susceptible to self heating than GaAs films of same thickness. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.