Thermal rectification in silicon by a graded distribution of defects

R Dettori and C Melis and R Rurali and L Colombo, JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 119, 215102 (2016).

DOI: 10.1063/1.4953142

We discuss about computer experiments based on nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations providing evidence that thermal rectification can be obtained in bulk Si by a non-uniform distribution of defects. We consider a graded population of both Ge substitutional defects and nanovoids, distributed along the direction of an applied thermal bias, and predict a rectification factor comparable to what is observed in other low-dimensional Si-based nanostructures. By considering several defect distribution profiles, thermal bias conditions, and sample sizes, the present results suggest that a possible way for tuning the thermal rectification is by defect engineering. Published by AIP Publishing.

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