International Journal of Physics | Vol. 8, No. 5, May 2017 | pp. 33–40
DOI: 10.46882/2017/IJP/000085
Research Article
Title: Thermal Conductance Degradation and Phonon Transport across Carbon Nanotube-Copper Interfaces
Names of Authors: D. W. Meyer¹, J. R. Weber²
Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Institute of Physics, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Karlsruhe, Germany; ²Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany
Abstract: Dissipating heat efficiently across highly mismatched material boundaries remains a core technological challenge in modern high-power nanoelectronics and structural composites. This paper uses molecular dynamics simulations to quantify thermal conductance degradation and track phonon wavepacket scattering dynamics at defective carbon nanotube-copper (CNT-Cu) junctions. We constructed atomistic models using the optimized Tersoff and embedded-atom method potentials, incorporating varying concentrations of interfacial point defects and vacancy networks. Longitudinal and transverse acoustic phonon wavepackets were generated with narrow frequency spreads centered between 2.0 THz and 10.0 THz. The computational data demonstrate that high-frequency acoustic phonons (f greater than 5.5 THz) undergo severe diffuse scattering at the defective boundary layer, dropping the transmission coefficient from 0.68 down to 0.15. This diffuse scattering behavior is driven by localized strain fields and localized interface vibrational modes. The overall interfacial thermal conductance was calculated to decrease by 55.0% when the interfacial defect density scaled from 1.0% to 5.0% at an equilibrium temperature of 300.0 K. These molecular dynamics calculations clarify the atomic-scale mechanisms restricting heat carrier propagation, helping engineers design targeted thermal management solutions for carbon-metal hybrids.
Keywords: Thermal conductance; phonon scattering; molecular dynamics; carbon nanotube; copper interface; nanoelectronics
Manuscript Timeline: Received: February 11, 2017; Revised: March 24, 2017; Accepted: April 10, 2017; Published: May 16, 2017
Citation: Meyer, D. W., & Weber, J. R. (2017). Thermal Conductance Degradation and Phonon Transport across Carbon Nanotube-Copper Interfaces. International Journal of Physics, 8(5), 33–40.
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