Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 29, 2026

Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials
Published on: January 26, 2014
Nonuniform Thermal Conductivity in Nanoscale Multiple Hotspot Systems
Yu He1, Zhihao Zhou1,2, Shixian Liu3
1National University of Defense Technology, College of Science, Changsha 410073, China.
Abstract:
Nanoscale hotspot thermal transport is critical for thermal management of electronic devices. Here, the thermal transport in nanoscale multiple hotspots is investigated by solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation. To address the limitations of the conventional black-box treatment, a formal local thermal conductivity is proposed, which extends the classical framework to nanoscale nondiffusive regimes. The results reveal a highly nonuniform local thermal transport capability with up to a 13-fold variation across the system. A substantial heat flux deflection is also observed, which significantly deviates from the direction predicted by Fourier's law. Furthermore, closely spaced nanoscale hotspots are found to enhance heat flux by up to 40%. This enhancement arises from a mechanism in which diffuse boundary scattering at hotspot spacing regions can enhance rather than impede thermal transport. This Letter challenges the long-standing black-box treatment of nanoscale thermal transport and offers fundamental insights for the thermal management of high-power-density integrated circuits.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant heat.
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I
Mechanism of heat transfer

