Micro/Nano Scale Energy Transport in Thin Films and Thin Flakes of Arbitrary Shapes

Energy transport in thin films and thin flakes will be investigated pertinent to micro/nano scale heat transport in small-scale electronic devices. The Boltzmann transport equation is incorporated to formulate phonon transport in thin films and thin flakes. Since small-scale electronic devices possess various size and shapes, the film/flake shape and size effects are included in the analysis. Phonon intensity distribution in the thin films/flakes is quantized in terms of the equivalent equilibrium temperature to access the thermal performance of the films/flakes when subjected to the thermal disturbance from their edges or through some other means. The study will be extended to include the determination of the rate of entropy generation in these systems. In the case of metallic thin films and thin flakes, electron-phonon coupling has to be incorporated and the modified two-equation model has to be considered so as to compare the findings of the solution of the Boltzmann equation in terms of phonon lattice and electron temperatures. The predictions of film thermal conductivity might also be compared with their counterparts presented in the open literature.