Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T22:02:30.394Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Thermal rectification of porous semiconductor materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2015

Brian L. Geist
Affiliation:
MicroXact, Inc., Blacksburg, VA 24060-6376, U.S.A.
Madrakhim Zaynetdinov
Affiliation:
MicroXact, Inc., Blacksburg, VA 24060-6376, U.S.A.
Kirby Myers
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, U.S.A.
Hans D. Robinson
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, U.S.A.
Vladimir Kochergin
Affiliation:
MicroXact, Inc., Blacksburg, VA 24060-6376, U.S.A.
Get access

Abstract

Thermal rectification in nanostructured materials is an active topic of research and development. Here it is suggested that porous semiconductor materials can offer an unmatched tailoring of its structural properties, resulting in both the ability to study the effects of nanoscale morphology on thermal rectification phenomenon, and the perspective to achieve large thermal rectification over a wide temperature range in combination with other beneficial properties, such as a wide tunability of thermal conductivity, or optical transparency of the thermally rectifying structure. In this contribution we are presenting the first to our knowledge experimental demonstration of thermal rectification in mesoporous silicon. The influence of pore morphology controlled via Si substrate crystallographic orientation and etching conditions on thermal rectification are studied. The effect of oxidation of the porous material is presented as well. Experimental results are further compared with several recently published theoretical predictions of thermal rectification in similar structures.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Starr, C., “The copper oxide rectifier,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 7, pp. 1519, 1935.Google Scholar
Roberts, N.A. and Walker, D.G., “A review of thermal rectification observations and models in solid materials,” Int. J. Thermal Sci., vol. 50, no. 5, pp. 648662, 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saha, S., Shi, L., and Prasher, R., “Monte Carlo Simulation of Phonon Backscattering in a Nanowire,” Proc. IMECE, 2006.Google Scholar
Roberts, N.A. and Walker, D.G., “Monte Carlo Study of Thermal Transport of Frequency and Direction Dependent Reflecting Boundaries in High Kn Systems,” ITherm, 2008.Google Scholar
Miller, J., Jang, W., and Dames, C., “Thermal rectification by ballistic phonons in asymmetric nanostructures,” Proc.. of HT2009 2009 ASME Summer Heat Transfer Conference July 19-23, 2009, San Francisco, California USA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spiecker, E., Rudel, M., Jäger, W., Leisner, M., and Föll, H., “Morphology, interface polarity and branching of electrochemically etched pores in InP”, phys. stat. sol.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
Langa, S., et al. ., “Formation of Porous Layers with Different Morphologies during Anodic Etching of n-InP,” Electrochemical and Solid-State Lett., vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 514516, 2000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foell, H. et al. ., “Pores in III-V Semiconductors,” Adv. Mater., vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 183198, 2003.10.1002/adma.200390043CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christophersen, M., Carstensen, J., Roennebeck, S., Jaeger, C., Jaeger, W., and Foell, H., “Crystal Orientation Dependence and Anisotropic Properties of Macropore Formation of p- and n-Type Silicon,” J. The Electrochemical Society, vol. 148, no. 6, pp. E267E275, 2001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Criado-Sancho, M., del Castillo, L.F., Casas-Vázquez, J., and Jou, D., “Theoretical analysis of thermal rectification in a bulk Si/nanoporous Si device,” Phys. Lett. A vol.376, pp. 16411644, 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar