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Out-of-plane heat transfer in van der Waals stacks through electron-hyperbolic phonon coupling
Klaas-Jan Tielrooij1, Niels C H Hesp2, Alessandro Principi3,4
1ICFO - Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain. klaas-jan.tielrooij@icfo.eu.
Nature Nanotechnology
|November 29, 2017
Summary
Researchers found a fast heat transfer in van der Waals heterostructures. This efficient hyperbolic cooling, enabled by graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, may allow control over nanoscale heat flow in advanced electronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Van der Waals heterostructures offer unique physical properties for advanced applications.
- Understanding nanoscale heat flow is crucial for devices in thermal management, optoelectronics, and high-speed electronics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize efficient out-of-plane energy transfer mechanisms in van der Waals heterostructures.
- To investigate the role of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in heat dissipation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized time-resolved photocurrent measurements to probe energy transfer dynamics.
- Investigated heat transfer by varying carrier density and lattice temperature.
Main Results:
- Identified an efficient out-of-plane energy transfer channel between graphene charge carriers and hyperbolic phonon polaritons.
- Observed picosecond cooling times in hexagonal boron nitride, attributed to high-momentum hyperbolic phonon polaritons enabling near-field energy transfer.
- Demonstrated excellent agreement between experimental data and theoretical predictions without adjustable parameters.
Conclusions:
- Hyperbolic cooling is an efficient heat transfer mechanism in van der Waals heterostructures.
- This finding provides fundamental insights into nanoscale heat flow.
- Potential for controlling heat flow in van der Waals heterostructures for device applications.
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