Dimensional crossover of thermal conductance in nanowires

Abstract

Dimensional dependence of thermal conductance at low temperatures in nanowires is studied using the nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method. Our calculation shows a smooth dimensional crossover of thermal conductance in nanowire from one-dimensional to three-dimensional behavior with the increase of diameters. The results are consistent with the experimental findings that the temperature dependence of thermal conductance at low temperature for diameters from tens to hundreds nanometers will be close to Debye law. The calculation also suggests that universal thermal conductance is only observable in nanowires with small diameters. We also find that the interfacial thermal conductance across Si and Ge nanowire is much lower than the corresponding value in bulk materials.