Probing ballistic thermal conduction in segmented silicon nanowires

Ballistic heat conduction in semiconductors is a remarkable but controversial nanoscale phenomenon, which implies that nanostructures can conduct thermal energy without dissipation. Here, we experimentally probed ballistic thermal transport at distances of 400-800 nm and temperatures of 4-250 K. Mea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanoscale 2019-07, Vol.11 (28), p.1347-13414
Main Authors: Anufriev, Roman, Gluchko, Sergei, Volz, Sebastian, Nomura, Masahiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer simulation
Conduction heating
Conductive heat transfer
Heat
Nanostructure
Nanowires
Serpentine
Silicon
Surface roughness
Temperature
Thermal energy
Thermal management
Thermodynamic properties
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Summary:Ballistic heat conduction in semiconductors is a remarkable but controversial nanoscale phenomenon, which implies that nanostructures can conduct thermal energy without dissipation. Here, we experimentally probed ballistic thermal transport at distances of 400-800 nm and temperatures of 4-250 K. Measuring thermal properties of straight and serpentine silicon nanowires, we found that at 4 K heat conduction is quasi-ballistic with stronger ballisticity at shorter length scales. As we increased the temperature, quasi-ballistic heat conduction weakened and gradually turned into diffusive regime at temperatures above 150 K. Our Monte Carlo simulations illustrate how this transition is driven by different scattering processes and linked to the surface roughness and the temperature. These results demonstrate the length and temperature limits of quasi-ballistic heat conduction in silicon nanostructures, knowledge of which is essential for thermal management in microelectronics. We experimentally demonstrate length and temperature limits of ballistic thermal conduction in silicon nanowires.
ISSN:2040-3364
2040-3372
DOI:10.1039/c9nr03863a