Heat Transfer 1

MAE 545

Microscale Heat Conduction

Dr. J.D. Felske

Microscale Heat Conduction

Metal
2, specular reflection

Phonon absorption coefficient =

L
Dielectric
x

IS (x,), Emission of Phonons f()

1, specular reflection
Semiconductor

Part of a microelectronic heterostructure has the above configuration. The thickness

of the dielectric layer, L, is comparable to the mean free path of the phonons which are
conducting heat through it. The adjacent layers are much larger than the phonon mean
free paths in them.
The deposition of the layers has been done with extreme care such: (i) scattering
of phonons is negligible within the dielectric, and (ii) The interfaces between the
dielectric and the metal and semiconducting layers is atomically smooth and lattice
matched such that the phonons are specularly reflected at the interfaces.
Laser photons are being absorbed throughout the dielectric layer. This source of
internal energy generates phonons which are transported within the dielectric and
escape from it by transmission through the boundaries.
The intensity of photon generated phonons is independent of time and azimuthal
angle (); it is given by IS (x,). Thermal emission of phonons by the dielectric itself
is negligible compared to those generated by the laser source.

MAE 545

Microscale Heat Conduction

Dr. J.D. Felske

Consider only those phonons generated at position x which are initially travelling
'upward' in direction toward interface 2. The dielectric absorbs but does not scatter
these phonons.
(a) What is the transmittance of these phonons to interface 2?
(b) Of the phonons making it to the boundary (part a), some are specularly reflected
(i.e. mirror-like) back into the dielectric. The remainder are transmitted through
the boundary. The reflectivity is a function of angle of incidence, 2().
What is the transmittance for phonons leaving interface 2 and arriving at
interface 1?
(c) Trace the path of phonons, accounting for their infinite reflections off of (and
transmissions through) the boundaries. Determine the fractions of phonons which
originated at (x, ) that
(i) leave the dielectric through interface 1
(ii)

(iii) are absorbed within the dielectric

Use the relation

x
=
n

n =0

1/ (1 x) , x < 1 to represent the sums.