(June 23, 2015) A
growing interest in thermoelectric materials – which convert waste heat to
electricity – and pressure to improve heat transfer from increasingly powerful
microelectronic devices have led to improved theoretical and experimental
understanding of how heat is transported through nanometer-scale materials.
Recent research has focused on the possibility of using
interference effects in phonon waves to control heat transport in materials.
Wave interference is already used to control electronic, photonic and acoustic
devices. If a similar approach can be used in thermal transport, that could
facilitate development of more efficient thermoelectric and nanoelectronic
devices, improved thermal barrier coatings, and new materials with ultralow
thermal conductivity.