Effects of subconduction band excitations on thermal conductance at metal-metal interfaces

Journal Article · Mon Jan 04 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3276908· OSTI ID:21347230

Hopkins, Patrick E; Beechem, Thomas E ^[1]; Duda, John C; Smoyer, Justin L; Norris, Pamela M ^[2]

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1. Engineering Sciences Center, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-0346 (United States)
2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4746 (United States)

Increased power densities combined with the decreased length scales of nanosystems give rise to large thermal excitations that can drastically affect the electron population near the Fermi surface. In light of such conditions, a model is developed for electron thermal boundary conductance (eTBC) that accounts for significant changes in the electron and hole populations around the Fermi level that occur at heightened temperatures. By including the contribution of subconduction band electrons to transport and evaluating the transmission coefficient based upon the total number of available states, an extension of eTBC predictions to high temperatures is made possible.

• OSTI ID: 21347230
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 96, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3276908; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
ALUMINIUM
COPPER
ELECTRONS
EXCITATION
FERMI LEVEL
NANOSTRUCTURES
POWER DENSITY
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY LEVELS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
FERMIONS
LEPTONS
METALS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS