Metamaterials toolbox:Tuning heat flow at will in the Si-based materials at nano- and mesoscales

Heat management in semiconducting nanomaterials requires the design of engineered artificial structures, known as metamaterials, where thermal properties can be tuned almost at will by microstructural modifications. Testing a broad range of nanostructures for the particular device applications, with predictive behavior, is a grand challenge especially because of the difficulties associated with the experimental synthesis of the pristine samples, their char- acterization and property calculations. For example, the silicon-on-insulator technology, used as the building block of sensors designed by our industrial partner, gives rise to particularly complex phenomenology. These materials exhibit anisotropic heat flow that often greatly influences their heat transport behavior and thus impacts device performance either in a positive or negative way. Therefore, there is a strong industrial need to develop a material toolbox, with highly predictive structure-property relations to match particular device applications. Our goal is thus to respond to this need by mean of molecular dynamic simulations by constructing a multidimensional phase diagram that will incorporate a broad range of metamaterial structures and physical properties in order to explain, design, and propose experiments for new directions with the precise property predictions.

Faculty Supervisor:

A Srikantha Phani;Alireza Nojeh;Debashish Mukherji

Student:

Céline Ruscher

Partner:

Lumiense Photonics

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of British Columbia