Download or read book Atomistic Simulations of Nano-architectured Semiconductors written by Paul Desmarchelier and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the nanoscale, thermal and vibrational properties are intimately linked and depend on the shape and composition of the material. Thanks to the nanostructuration, nanocomposites allow a better control of the heat transfer. This can be used to improve the performances of thermoelectric generators through a better insulation, but also to improve the heat management in microelectronics application. In this work, the thermal properties of some nanocomposites are studied using atomistic level simulations, thanks to molecular dynamics. In a first part, the focus is laid on nanocomposites composed of an amorphous matrix and crystalline nano-inclusions. The approach separating the propagative and diffusive contribution, developed for amorphous materials, is used. The ballistic contribution where the heat is propagated by plane waves is systematically impacted by the nanostructuration. Whereas affecting the diffusive contribution, that spreads the heat slowly at the nanoscale, is more challenging. This can be done, for instance, through pores or inclusions softer than the matrix but in variable proportions. A second part is dedicated to the study of silicon nanowires, and the impact of amorphization. For this, the transport of energy as a function of frequency in crystalline core amorphous shell nanowire is studied. An amorphous shell causes the apparition of diffusive transport and the decrease in transmission at low frequencies. Then, molecular dynamics are coupled to hydrodynamic heat equations to study the radial distribution of flux in those nanowires. This analysis suggests that the reduction of the thermal conductivity upon the addition of shell cannot be linked solely to modified interface properties, but are rather due to a global effect of the shell on the mean free path of heat carriers. Finally, it is shown that structuration of the amorphous layer in a conical shape can be used to obtain thermal rectification, that is, a spatial asymmetry in thermal transport. This rectification appears to be caused by the perturbation of transmission at low frequencies.