Influence of Inelastic Scattering at Metal-Dielectric Interfaces

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick E. Hopkins ◽  
Pamela M. Norris ◽  
Robert J. Stevens

Thermal boundary conductance is becoming increasingly important in microelectronic device design and thermal management. Although there has been much success in predicting and modeling thermal boundary conductance at low temperatures, the current models applied at temperatures more common in device operation are not adequate due to our current limited understanding of phonon transport channels. In this study, the scattering processes across Cr∕Si, Al∕Al2O3, Pt∕Al2O3, and Pt∕AlN interfaces were examined by transient thermoreflectance testing at high temperatures. At high temperatures, traditional models predict the thermal boundary conductance to be relatively constant in these systems due to assumptions about phonon elastic scattering. Experiments, however, show an increase in the conductance indicating inelastic phonon processes. Previous molecular dynamic simulations of simple interfaces indicate the presence of inelastic scattering, which increases interfacial transport linearly with temperature. The trends predicted computationally are similar to those found during experimental testing, exposing the role of multiple-phonon processes in thermal boundary conductance at high temperatures.

Author(s):  
Patrick E. Hopkins ◽  
Pamela M. Norris ◽  
Robert J. Stevens

The accuracy of predictions of thermal boundary conductance using traditional models such as the diffuse mismatch model (DMM) varies depending on the types of material comprising the interface. These traditional models assume that phonons are elastically scattered which drives the energy conductance across the interface. It has been shown that at relatively high temperatures (i.e., above the Debye temperature) inelastic scattering events can drive interfacial transport. In this case, the predictions from traditional models become highly inaccurate. In this paper, the effects of inelastic scattering on thermal boundary conductance at metal/dielectric interfaces are studied. Experimental transient thermoreflectance data showing inelastic trends are reviewed and compared to traditional models. Using the physical assumptions in the traditional models and the experimental data, the relative contributions of inelastic and elastic scattering on thermal boundary conductance is inferred.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick E. Hopkins ◽  
Pamela M. Norris

The accuracy of predictions of phonon thermal boundary conductance using traditional models such as the diffuse mismatch model (DMM) varies depending on the types of material comprising the interface. The DMM assumes that phonons, undergoing diffuse scattering events, are elastically scattered, which drives the energy conductance across the interface. It has been shown that at relatively high temperatures (i.e., above the Debye temperature) previously ignored inelastic scattering events can contribute substantially to interfacial transport. In this case, the predictions from the DMM become highly inaccurate. In this paper, the effects of inelastic scattering on thermal boundary conductance at metal/dielectric interfaces are studied. Experimental transient thermoreflectance data showing inelastic trends are reviewed and compared to traditional models. Using the physical assumptions in the traditional models and experimental data, the relative contributions of inelastic and elastic scattering to thermal boundary conductance are inferred.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela M. Norris ◽  
Patrick E. Hopkins

Today’s electronic and optoelectronic devices are plagued by heat transfer issues. As device dimensions shrink and operating frequencies increase, ever-increasing amounts of thermal energy are being generated in smaller and smaller volumes. As devices shrink to length scales on the order of carrier mean free paths, thermal transport is no longer dictated by the thermal properties of the materials comprising the devices, but rather the transport of energy across the interfaces between adjacent materials in the devices. In this paper, current theories and experiments concerning phonon scattering processes driving thermal boundary conductance (hBD) are reviewed. Experimental studies of thermal boundary conductance conducted with the transient thermoreflectance technique challenging specific assumptions about phonon scattering during thermal boundary conductance are presented. To examine the effects of atomic mixing at the interface on hBD, a series of Cr/Si samples was fabricated subject to different deposition conditions. The varying degrees of atomic mixing were measured with Auger electron spectroscopy. Phonon scattering phenomena in the presence of interfacial mixing were observed with the trends in the Cr/Si hBD. The experimental results are reviewed and a virtual crystal diffuse mismatch model is presented to add insight into the effect of interatomic mixing at the interface. The assumption that phonons can only transmit energy across the interface by scattering with a phonon of the same frequency—i.e., elastic scattering, can lead to underpredictions of hBD by almost an order of magnitude. To examine the effects of inelastic scattering on hBD, a series of metal/dielectric interfaces with a wide range of vibrational similarity is studied at temperatures above and around materials’ Debye temperatures. Inelastic scattering is observed and new models are developed to predict hBD and its relative dependency on elastic and inelastic scattering events.


Author(s):  
Patrick E. Hopkins ◽  
John C. Duda ◽  
Pamela M. Norris

Continued reduction of characteristic dimensions in nanosystems has given rise to increasing importance of material interfaces on the overall system performance. With regard to thermal transport, this increases the need for a better fundamental understanding of the processes affecting interfacial thermal transport, as characterized by the thermal boundary conductance. When thermal boundary conductance is driven by phononic scattering events, accurate predictions of interfacial transport must account for anharmonic phononic coupling as this affects the thermal transmission. In this paper, a new model for phononic thermal boundary conductance is developed that takes into account anharonic coupling, or inelastic scattering events, at the interface between two materials. Previous models for thermal boundary conductance are first reviewed, including the Diffuse Mismatch Model, which only consdiers elastic phonon scattering events, and earlier attempts to account for inelastic phonon scattering, namely, the Maximum Transmission Model and the Higher Harmonic Inelastic model. A new model is derived, the Anharmonic Inelastic Model, which provides a more physical consideration of the effects of inelastic scattering on thermal boundary conductance. This is accomplished by considering specific ranges of phonon frequency interactions and phonon number density conservation. Thus, this model considers the contributions of anharmonic, inelastically scattered phonons to thermal boundary conductance. This new Anharmonic Inelastic Model shows excellent agreement between model predictions and experimental data at the Pb/diamond interface due to its ability to account for the temperature dependent changing phonon population in diamond, which can couple anharmonically with multiple phonons in Pb.


Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Timothy S. Fisher

A nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) method is used to simulate the phonon transport across a strained thin film between two semi-infinite contacts. The calculation of dynamical matrix, self-energy matrix and transmission function are discussed. Uncoupled Green’s functions are computed numerically using a block tridiagonal algorithm. The numerical role of the broadening constant is investigated. The bulk density of states in a single atomic chain is calculated and compares well with an analytical solution. The transmission function and thermal conductance across the thin film are evaluated for two different configurations (Ge-Si-Ge and Si-Ge-Si) and compared against homogeneous bulk systems (Si only and Ge only), indicating that heterogeneous interfaces reduce thermal conductance significantly.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Iwona Sadura ◽  
Dariusz Latowski ◽  
Jana Oklestkova ◽  
Damian Gruszka ◽  
Marek Chyc ◽  
...  

Plants have developed various acclimation strategies in order to counteract the negative effects of abiotic stresses (including temperature stress), and biological membranes are important elements in these strategies. Brassinosteroids (BR) are plant steroid hormones that regulate plant growth and development and modulate their reaction against many environmental stresses including temperature stress, but their role in modifying the properties of the biological membrane is poorly known. In this paper, we characterise the molecular dynamics of chloroplast membranes that had been isolated from wild-type and a BR-deficient barley mutant that had been acclimated to low and high temperatures in order to enrich the knowledge about the role of BR as regulators of the dynamics of the photosynthetic membranes. The molecular dynamics of the membranes was investigated using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in both a hydrophilic and hydrophobic area of the membranes. The content of BR was determined, and other important membrane components that affect their molecular dynamics such as chlorophylls, carotenoids and fatty acids in these membranes were also determined. The chloroplast membranes of the BR-mutant had a higher degree of rigidification than the membranes of the wild type. In the hydrophilic area, the most visible differences were observed in plants that had been grown at 20 °C, whereas in the hydrophobic core, they were visible at both 20 and 5 °C. There were no differences in the molecular dynamics of the studied membranes in the chloroplast membranes that had been isolated from plants that had been grown at 27 °C. The role of BR in regulating the molecular dynamics of the photosynthetic membranes will be discussed against the background of an analysis of the photosynthetic pigments and fatty acid composition in the chloroplasts.


Author(s):  
Bernardo Augusto Farah Santos ◽  
Rhuan Costa Souza ◽  
Maria Eduarda Dias Serenario ◽  
Eugenio Pena Mendes Junior ◽  
Thiago Araujo Simões ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. MacLeod ◽  
S. W. Murray ◽  
J. P. Goss ◽  
P. R. Briddon ◽  
R. J. Eyre

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document