2004/07/06 by Eleni Ziambaras, Per Hyldgaard, Ziambaras, Eleni +1
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/0407122
15 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2004/07/06 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
SiC is a robust semiconductor material considered ideal for high-power application due to its material stability and large bulk thermal conductivity defined by the very fast phonons. In this paper, however, we show that both material-interface scattering and total-internal reflection significantly limit the SiC-nanostructure phonon transport and hence the heat dissipation in a typical device. For simplicity we focus on planar SiC nanostructures and calculate the thermal transport both parallel to the layers in a substrate/SiC/oxide heterostructure and across a SiC/metal gate or contact. We find that the phonon-interface scattering produces a heterostructure thermal conductivity significantly smaller than what is predicted in a traditional heat-transport calculation. We also document that the high-temperature heat flow across the metal/SiC interface is limited by total-internal reflection effects and maximizes with a small difference in the metal/SiC sound velocities.