Nonequilibrium Electron and Phonon Thermal Transport Driven by External Fields: Towards In Situ Thermal Property Characterization of Active Devices
Abstract
The coupled interactions between the fundamental carriers of charge, heat, and electromagnetic fields are the critical processes that dictate functionality, efficiency, and future design of a wide array of devices. Typically, these devices’ performances are evaluated based on their responses to charge or field during operation. Degradation based on these device performance metrics are often correlated to thermal management, where self-heating or inefficient heat sinking increases the temperature of the device. Thermal management in these active devices relies heavily on the thermal conductivity of the materials comprising the device, along with the thermal boundary conductances across the material interfaces in the device. Traditionally, device temperatures are monitored and the heat transfer analyses of how heat flows away from hot spots and into heat sinks are based off of literature values or measurements. However, beyond temperature change from power sources, no other dynamic and time varying parameters are commonly assumed to affect the thermal performance of devices.Thus, the overarching objective of the proposed program is to demonstrate the effects of externally applied stimuli on thermal transport in materials and active devices. The overarching hypothesis driving this work is that externally applied stimuli (electric fields and/or optical pulses) can manipulate both carrier scattering rates and distributions, resulting in changes to thermal transport properties of materials. The proposed project will greatly advance knowledge regarding the basic thermophysics governing thermal transport, relating externally applied stimuli typical in device operation to the resulting thermal conduction mechanisms. This work will focus around materials and structures similar to those used in microelectronic devices and quantum cascade laser systems, and thus, will provide translational advances in thermal management for active device of interest to the DoD.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 11, 2018
- Source ID
- FA95501810352
Entities
People
- Patrick Hopkins
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Virginia