Mechanical Strain Dependence of Thermal Transport in Amorphous Silicon Thin Films

Recent computational studies predict mechanical strain-induced changes in thermal transport, which is yet to be validated by experimental data. In this article, we present experimental evidence of an increase in thermal conductivity of nominally 200-nm-thick freestanding amorphous silicon thin films...

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Published inNanoscale and microscale thermophysical engineering Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 1 - 16
Main Authors Alam, M. T., Pulavarthy, R. A., Muratore, C., Haque, M. A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Taylor & Francis 02.01.2015
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Amorphous silicon
Heat conductivity
Heat transfer
Infrared
Mechanical properties
mechanical strain
Microstructure
Nanostructure
Silicon
Spectrum analysis
Strain
Tensile strength
Thermal conductivity
thin film
Thin films
Transport
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Summary:Recent computational studies predict mechanical strain-induced changes in thermal transport, which is yet to be validated by experimental data. In this article, we present experimental evidence of an increase in thermal conductivity of nominally 200-nm-thick freestanding amorphous silicon thin films under externally applied tensile loading. Using a combination of nanomechanical testing and infrared microscopy, we show that 2.5% tensile strain can increase thermal conductivity from 1 to 2.4 W/m-K. We propose that such an increase in thermal conductivity might be due to strain-induced changes in microstructure and/or carrier density. Microstructural and optical reflectivity characterization through Raman and infrared spectroscopy are presented to investigate this hypothesis.
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ISSN:1556-7265
1556-7273
DOI:10.1080/15567265.2014.948233