Regulated Thermal Boundary Conductance between Copper and Diamond through Nanoscale Interfacial Rough Structures

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Condensed Matter Physics

Background:

• Interfacial structure optimization is crucial for enhancing thermal boundary conductance (TBC) in thermal conductive composites.
• Improving TBC is key to boosting the overall performance of these materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of interfacial roughness on TBC between copper and diamond.
• To explore roughness modification as a strategy for interfacial thermal management.

Main Methods:

• Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to model interfacial structures and thermal transport.
• Time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) experiments were conducted to experimentally measure TBC.

Main Results:

• MD simulations revealed that rougher interfaces exhibit higher thermal transport efficiency, improving TBC up to 5.5 times (133 MW/m²·K).
• Phonon scattering probability increases with roughness and then stabilizes, with TBC dominated by contact area for significant roughness.
• TDTR experiments validated the simulation trends, confirming the impact of roughness on TBC.

Conclusions:

• Interfacial roughness modification is a feasible approach for enhancing TBC in copper/diamond interfaces.
• This study offers a novel strategy for improving the thermal conductivity of composite materials through interfacial engineering.