Abstract
Reducing the thermal conductivity of nanowires may enhance their already exciting efficiency of thermoelectric energy conversion. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that the thermal conductivity of silicon nanowires could be significantly decreased by patterning (or etching) induced roughness of the nanowire surfaces. The type, amplitude, and wavelength of the surface roughness all have profound effects, and the thermal conductivity could be reduced more when the wavelength is smaller or the amplitude is larger. Such an effect of roughness on the thermal conductivity is furthermore found to be coupled with the effects of nanowire cross-sectional size and length. Typically, the roughness effect is more prominent in longer and larger nanowires. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 33501 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Physics |
Volume | 107 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. CMMI-0643726. This research was also supported by WCU (World Class University) program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Korea (Grant No. R32-2008-000-20042-0), and by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50928601). L. L. acknowledges the support of the Founder's Prize, through the American Academy of Mechanics, sponsored by the Robert M. and Mary Haythornthwaite Foundation.