scholarly journals Phonon transport in the nano-system of Si and SiGe films with Ge nanodots and approach to ultralow thermal conductivity

Nanoscale ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4971-4977
Author(s):  
Tatsuhiko Taniguchi ◽  
Tsukasa Terada ◽  
Yuki Komatsubara ◽  
Takafumi Ishibe ◽  
Kento Konoike ◽  
...  

Ballistic phonon transport was observed in Si films containing Ge nanodots. In SiGe films containing Ge nanodots, thermal conductivity was drastically reduced close to that of amorphous materials due to alloy phonon scattering and nanodot scattering.

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 1940036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Nakamura ◽  
T. Ishibe ◽  
T. Taniguchi ◽  
T. Terada ◽  
R. Hosoda ◽  
...  

We present the methodologies for developing high-performance thermoelectric materials using nanostructured interfaces by reviewing our three studies and giving the new aspect of nanostructuring results. (1) Connected Si nanocrystals exhibited ultrasmall thermal conductivity. The drastic thermal conductivity reduction was brought by phonon confinement and phonon scattering. Here, we present discussion about the new aspect for phonon transport: not only nanocrystal size but also shape can contribute to thermal conductivity reduction. (2) Si films including Ge nanocrystals demonstrated that phonon and carrier conductions were independently controlled in the films, where carriers were easily transported through the interfaces between Si and Ge, while phonons could be effectively scattered at the interfaces. (3) Embedded-ZnO nanowire structure demonstrated the simultaneous realization of power factor increase and thermal conductivity reduction. The [Formula: see text] increase was caused by the interface-dominated carrier transport. The nanowire interfaces also worked as phonon scatterers, resulting in the thermal conductivity reduction.


Author(s):  
Jungwan Cho ◽  
Pane C. Chao ◽  
Mehdi Asheghi ◽  
Kenneth E. Goodson

Silicon films of thickness near and below one micrometer play a central role in many advanced technologies for computation and energy conversion. Numerous data on the thermal conductivity of silicon thin films are available in the literature, but mainly for the in-plane thermal conductivity of polycrystalline and single-crystal films. Here we use picosecond time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR), transmission electron microscopy, and phonon transport theory to investigate heat conduction normal to polycrystalline silicon films on diamond substrates. The data agree with predictions that account for the coupled effects of phonon scattering on film boundaries and defects concentrated near grain boundaries. Using the data and the model, we estimate the polysilicon-diamond interface resistance to be 6.5–8 m2 K GW−1.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Yang ◽  
Austin J. Minnich

Abstract Nanocrystalline thermoelectric materials based on Si have long been of interest because Si is earth-abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic. However, a poor understanding of phonon grain boundary scattering and its effect on thermal conductivity has impeded efforts to improve the thermoelectric figure of merit. Here, we report an ab-initio based computational study of thermal transport in nanocrystalline Si-based materials using a variance-reduced Monte Carlo method with the full phonon dispersion and intrinsic lifetimes from first-principles as input. By fitting the transmission profile of grain boundaries, we obtain excellent agreement with experimental thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline Si [Wang et al. Nano Letters 11, 2206 (2011)]. Based on these calculations, we examine phonon transport in nanocrystalline SiGe alloys with ab-initio electron-phonon scattering rates. Our calculations show that low energy phonons still transport substantial amounts of heat in these materials, despite scattering by electron-phonon interactions, due to the high transmission of phonons at grain boundaries, and thus improvements in ZT are still possible by disrupting these modes. This work demonstrates the important insights into phonon transport that can be obtained using ab-initio based Monte Carlo simulations in complex nanostructured materials.


Author(s):  
Dhruv Singh ◽  
Jayathi Y. Murthy ◽  
Timothy S. Fisher

This paper examines the thermodynamic and thermal transport properties of the 2D graphene lattice. The interatomic interactions are modeled using the Tersoff interatomic potential and are used to evaluate phonon dispersion curves, density of states and thermodynamic properties of graphene as functions of temperature. Perturbation theory is applied to calculate the transition probabilities for three-phonon scattering. The matrix elements of the perturbing Hamiltonian are calculated using the anharmonic interatomic force constants obtained from the interatomic potential as well. An algorithm to accurately quantify the contours of energy balance for three-phonon scattering events is presented and applied to calculate the net transition probability from a given phonon mode. Under the linear approximation, the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) is applied to compute the thermal conductivity of graphene, giving spectral and polarization-resolved information. Predictions of thermal conductivity for a wide range of parameters elucidate the behavior of diffusive phonon transport. The complete spectral detail of selection rules, important phonon scattering pathways, and phonon relaxation times in graphene are provided, contrasting graphene with other materials, along with implications for graphene electronics. We also highlight the specific scattering processes that are important in Raman spectroscopy based measurements of graphene thermal conductivity, and provide a plausible explanation for the observed dependence on laser spot size.


Author(s):  
Brian R. Smith ◽  
Cristina H. Amon

This paper analyzes the effect of Fourier vs. subcontinuum heat transport through thin layers of nanoporous silica (aerogel) in the framework of an infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) sensor system. Aerogel is introduced as a compatible material for emerging microsystems applications and the comparison between aerogel and conventional insulation systems is analyzed. Correlations between aerogel’s macro-scale thermal properties and its nano-scale structure are discussed to address the effect of the material’s amorphous structure and sub-continuum phonon transport phenomena on macro-scale thermal conductivity. Simulations using the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) quantify the effect of phonon scattering on silica conductivity. Techniques for extending the analysis to a three-dimensional silica matrix are discussed in light of recent advances in the simulation of aerogel morphology.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Z. Fullem ◽  
Eric J. Cotts

AbstractWhile detailed theories exist for thermal conduction due to electrons and phonons in crystalline solids, phonon scattering and transmission at solid/solid interfaces is not as well understood. Steady increases in the power density of microelectronic devices have resulted in an increasing need in the electronics industry for an understanding of thermal conduction in multilayered structures. The materials of interest in this study consist of a polymer matrix in which small (on the order of microns to tens of microns) highly conductive filler particles (such as Ag or alumina) are suspended. These materials are used to form a thermal interface material bondline (a fifty to several hundred micron bonding layer) between a power device and a heat spreader. Such a bondline contains many polymer/filler interfaces. Using a micro Fourier apparatus, the thermal conductivities of such thermal interface material (TIM) bondlines of various thicknesses, ranging from fifty microns to several hundred microns, have been measured. The microstructure of these bondlines has been investigated using optical microscopy and acoustic microscopy. Measured values of thermal conductivity are compared to values for bulk samples, and considered in terms of microstructural features such as filler particle depleted regions. The influence of polymer/filler particle interfaces in the TIM bondline on phonon transport through the bondline is also considered.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jungwan Cho ◽  
Daniel Francis ◽  
Pane C. Chao ◽  
Mehdi Asheghi ◽  
Kenneth E. Goodson

Silicon films of submicrometer thickness play a central role in many advanced technologies for computation and energy conversion. Numerous thermal conductivity data for silicon films are available in the literature, but they are mainly for the lateral, or in-plane, direction for both polycrystalline and single crystalline films. Here, we use time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR), transmission electron microscopy, and semiclassical phonon transport theory to investigate thermal conduction normal to polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) films of thickness 79, 176, and 630 nm on a diamond substrate. The data agree with theoretical predictions accounting for the coupled effects of phonon scattering on film boundaries and defects related to grain boundaries. Using the data and the phonon transport model, we extract the normal, or cross-plane thermal conductivity of the polysilicon (11.3 ± 3.5, 14.2 ± 3.5, and 25.6 ± 5.8 W m−1 K−1 for the 79, 176, and 630 nm films, respectively), as well as the thermal boundary resistance between polysilicon and diamond (6.5–8 m2 K GW−1) at room temperature. The nonuniformity in the extracted thermal conductivities is due to spatially varying distributions of imperfections in the direction normal to the film associated with nucleation and coalescence of grains and their subsequent columnar growth.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1735 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Upadhyaya ◽  
Z. Aksamija

ABSTRACTSilicon-germanium (SiGe) superlattices (SLs) have been proposed for application as efficient thermoelectrics because of their low thermal conductivity, below that of bulk SiGe alloys. However, the cost of growing SLs is prohibitive, so nanocomposites, made by a ball-milling and sintering, have been proposed as a cost-effective replacement with similar properties. Lattice thermal conductivity in SiGe SLs is reduced by scattering from the rough interfaces between layers. Therefore, it is expected that interface properties, such as roughness, orientation, and composition, will play a significant role in thermal transport in nanocomposites and offer many additional degrees of freedom to control the thermal conductivity in nanocomposites by tailoring grain size, shape, and crystal angle distributions. We previously demonstrated the sensitivity of the lattice thermal conductivity in SLs to the interface properties, based on solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation under the relaxation time approximation. Here we adapt the model to a broad range of SiGe nanocomposites. We model nanocomposite structures using a Voronoi tessellation to mimic the grains and their distribution in the nanocomposite and show excellent agreement with experimentally observed structures, while for nanowires we use the Monte Carlo method to solve the phonon Boltzmann equation. In order to accurately treat phonon scattering from a series of atomically rough interfaces between the grains in the nanocomposite and at the boundaries of nanowires, we employ a momentum-dependent specularity parameter. Our results show thermal transport in SiGe nanocomposites and nanowires is reduced significantly below their bulk alloy counterparts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-467
Author(s):  
Soo-Young Kang ◽  
No-Won Park ◽  
Won-Yong Lee ◽  
Min-Sung Kang ◽  
Gil-Sung Kim ◽  
...  

Nanoscale superlattice thin films generally exhibit larger phonon and electron scattering at the interface in the direction of the cross-plane of the samples. Therefore, it is very important to further detailed study of especially phonon transport of the superlattice films. Here, we report temperature dependent thermal conductivity anisotropy in phonon transport of Bi2 Te3 /Bi0.5 Sb1.5 Te3 superlattice thin films at 200–500 K. Thermal conductivity of these thin films for in- and cross-plane thermal conductivities were determined to be approximately 0.74 and 0.4 W m–1 K–1 at 200–500 K, respectively, clearly indicating ∼185% suppression in- and cross-plane thermal conductivities of the superlattice thin films with a large anisotropic behavior. Such large anisotropy in the thermal conductivity can be attributed to enhanced phonon scattering occurring at the interface of the Bi2Te3 and Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 layer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (20) ◽  
pp. 7281
Author(s):  
Jong Hoon Cho ◽  
Ji Sun Im ◽  
Byong Chol Bai

The present study was conducted to investigate changes in the thermal conductivity of petroleum pitch-based carbon molded bodies prepared by anisotropic (uniaxial) molding under different molding pressures. The carbon molded bodies were prepared using needle coke and petroleum-based binder pitch polymers (softening point: 150 ℃). Green blocks prepared under high molding pressure showed a higher particle orientation value up to 16.4 μm. Graphite blocks, prepared by graphitizing the green blocks at 2800 ℃ showed a similar trend. The pores in the carbon molded body were filled with low boiling point substances, generated by the thermal treatment of the binder pitch polymer or air that could not be discharged during the molding procedure. Therefore, when phonons encountered a pore, phonon scattering, rather than phonon transport, occurred, and thus the heat transport from the hot zone to a cold zone became slow. As a result, although the particle orientation was a little higher in the B_10-G sample than in the B_20-G sample (in the error range), the thermal conductivity was higher in the B_20-G sample, which may be because the B_10-G sample had a higher porosity than the B_20-G sample.


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