Lattice thermal conductivity crossovers in semiconductor nanowires
For binary compound semiconductor nanowires, we find a striking relationship between the nanowire's thermal conductivity kappa(nwire), the bulk material's thermal conductivity kappa(bulk), and the mass ratio of the material's constituent atoms, r, as kappa(bulk)/kappa(nwire) (alpha) (...
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| Published in | Physical review letters Vol. 93; no. 24; p. 246106 |
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| Main Authors | , |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
United States
10.12.2004
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| Online Access | Get more information |
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| Summary: | For binary compound semiconductor nanowires, we find a striking relationship between the nanowire's thermal conductivity kappa(nwire), the bulk material's thermal conductivity kappa(bulk), and the mass ratio of the material's constituent atoms, r, as kappa(bulk)/kappa(nwire) (alpha) (1+1/r)(-3/2). A significant consequence is the presence of crossovers in which a material with higher bulk thermal conductivity than the rest is no longer the best nanowire thermal conductor. We show that this behavior stems from a change in the dominant phonon scattering mechanism with decreasing nanowire size. The results have important implications for nanoscale heat dissipation, thermoelectricity, and thermal conductivity of nanocomposites. |
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| ISSN: | 0031-9007 1079-7114 |
| DOI: | 10.1103/physrevlett.93.246106 |