低维纳米材料量子热输运与自旋热电性质 ——非平衡格林函数方法的应用

低维材料不断涌现的新奇性质吸引着科学研究者的目光. 除了电子的量子输运行为之外, 人们也陆续发现和确认了热输运中显著的量子行为, 如 热导低温量子化、声子子带、尺寸效应、瓶颈效应等. 这些小尺度体系的热输运性质可以很好地用非平衡格林函数来描述. 本文首先介绍了量子热输运的特性、声子非平衡格林函数方法及其在低维纳米材料中的研究进展; 其次回顾了近年来在 一系列低维材料中发现的热-自旋输运现象. 这些自旋热学现象展现了全新的热电转换机制, 有助于设计新型的热电转换器件, 同时也给出了用热产生自旋流的新途径; 最后介绍了线性响应理论以及在此理论框架下结合声子、电子非平衡格林函数方法进行的一些有益的探索. 量子热输运的研究对热效应基础研究以及声子学器件、能量转换器件的发展有着不可替代的重要作用.     

Nonequilibrium Green’s function method for quantum thermal transport

This review deals with the nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) method applied to the problems of energy transport due to atomic vibrations (phonons), primarily for small junction systems. We present a pedagogical introduction to the subject, deriving some of the well-known results such as the Laudauer-like formula for heat current in ballistic systems. The main aim of the review is to build the machinery of the method so that it can be applied to other situations, which are not directly treated here. In addition to the above, we consider a number of applications of NEGF, not in routine model system calculations, but in a few new aspects showing the power and usefulness of the formalism. In particular, we discuss the problems of multiple leads, coupled left-right-lead system, and system without a center. We also apply the method to the problem of full counting statistics. In the case of nonlinear systems, we make general comments on the thermal expansion effect, phonon relaxation time, and a certain class of mean-field approximations. Lastly, we examine the relationship between NEGF, reduced density matrix, and master equation approaches to thermal transport.     

Quantum thermal transport in nanostructures

In this colloquia review we discuss methods for thermal transport calculations for nanojunctions connected to two semi-infinite leads served as heat-baths. Our emphases are on fundamental quantum theory and atomistic models. We begin with an introduction of the Landauer formula for ballistic thermal transport and give its derivation from scattering wave point of view. Several methods (scattering boundary condition, mode-matching, Piccard and Caroli formulas) of calculating the phonon transmission coefficients are given. The nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method is reviewed and the Caroli formula is derived. We also give iterative methods and an algorithm based on a generalized eigenvalue problem for the calculation of surface Green's functions, which are starting point for an NEGF calculation. A systematic exposition for the NEGF method is presented, starting from the fundamental definitions of the Green's functions, and ending with equations of motion for the contour ordered Green's functions and Feynman diagrammatic expansion. In the later part, we discuss the treatments of nonlinear effects in heat conduction, including a phenomenological expression for the transmission, NEGF for phonon-phonon interactions, molecular dynamics (generalized Langevin) with quantum heat-baths, and electron-phonon interactions. Some new results are also shown. We briefly review the experimental status of the thermal transport measurements in nanostructures.     

Time-dependent transport: Time domain recursively solving NEGF technique

We present a numerical method in this paper to calculate time-dependent transport properties in mesoscopic systems. This method recursively computes the non-equilibrium Green's functions (NEGF) in the time domain. In the simulations, we utilize a dynamically allocated data structure to compute current densities in response to input signals of any time duration and arbitrary shape. To demonstrate the performance, we apply the proposed method to solve NEGF for time-dependent transport in resonant-tunneling devices (RTD) with a single resonant level. We also investigate how the electrodes’ energy band structure affects the transport properties.     

Interface-facilitated energy transport in coupled Frenkel–Kontorova chains

The role of interface couplings on the energy transport of two coupled Frenkel–Kontorova (FK) chains is explored through numerical simulations. In general, it is expected that the interface couplings result in the suppression of heat conduction through the coupled system due to the additional interface phonon–phonon scattering. In the present paper, it is found that the thermal conductivity increases with increasing intensity of interface interactions for weak inter-chain couplings, whereas the heat conduction is suppressed by the interface interaction in the case of strong inter-chain couplings. Based on the phonon spectral energy density method, we demonstrate that the enhancement of energy transport results from the excited phonon modes (in addition to the intrinsic phonon modes), while the strong interface phonon–phonon scattering results in the suppressed energy transport.     

三氨基三硝基苯基高聚物粘结炸药热力学性质的理论计算研究

高聚物粘结炸药(PBX)的热力学性质是用于炸药结构响应、安全性评估、数值模拟分析等的重要参数.由于PBX结构的多尺度特性,完全采取实验方法精细表征这些参数存在巨大的挑战.本文运用第一性原理和分子动力学计算的方法,系统研究了三氨基三硝基苯(TATB)基高聚物粘结炸药的热力学参数和界面热传导性质.利用散射失配模型研究了TATB与聚偏二氟乙烯(PVDF)界面的热传导过程,发现热导率随温度升高而上升,并且在高温情况下接近于定值.基于分子动力学获得的TATB热导率并结合界面热导率,分析了PBX炸药的热导与颗粒尺寸的关系,当颗粒尺寸大于100 nm时,界面热阻对于PBX热导率的影响有限.     

硅纳米薄膜中声子弹道扩散导热的蒙特卡罗模拟

通过建立声子散射概率函数描述声子在输运过程中的散射,提出了一种模拟声子弹道扩散导热的蒙特卡罗方法,并将其应用于硅纳米薄膜中的稳态和瞬态弹道扩散导热过程的研究. 提出的蒙特卡罗方法对边界发射的声子束进行跟踪,根据散射概率函数模拟声子束在传播区域内经历的散射过程,并通过统计声子束的分布得到温度分布. 稳态导热过程的模拟发现,尺寸效应会引起边界温度跳跃,其值随着Knudsen数的增大而增大;计算的硅纳米薄膜的热导率随着厚度的增大而增大,与文献中的实验数据和理论模型相符. 通过瞬态导热过程的模拟得到了纳米薄膜内的温度分布随时间的变化,发现瞬态导热过程中的热波现象与空间尺度相关,材料尺寸越小,弹道输运越强,薄膜中的热波现象也越显著. 关键词： 纳米薄膜 弹道扩散导热 蒙特卡罗模拟 尺寸效应     

Two-dimensional phonon transport in graphene

Properties of phonons-quanta of the crystal lattice vibrations-in graphene have recently attracted significant attention from the physics and engineering communities. Acoustic phonons are the main heat carriers in graphene near room temperature, while optical phonons are used for counting the number of atomic planes in Raman experiments with few-layer graphene. It was shown both theoretically and experimentally that transport properties of phonons, i.e. energy dispersion and scattering rates, are substantially different in a quasi-two-dimensional system such as graphene compared to the basal planes in graphite or three-dimensional bulk crystals. The unique nature of two-dimensional phonon transport translates into unusual heat conduction in graphene and related materials. In this review, we outline different theoretical approaches developed for phonon transport in graphene, discuss contributions of the in-plane and cross-plane phonon modes, and provide comparison with available experimental thermal conductivity data. Particular attention is given to analysis of recent results for the phonon thermal conductivity of single-layer graphene and few-layer graphene, and the effects of the strain, defects, and isotopes on phonon transport in these systems.     

多约束纳米结构的声子热导率模型研究

纳米技术的快速发展使得对微纳尺度导热机理的深入研究变得至关重要. 理论和实验都表明, 在纳米尺度下声子热导率将表现出尺寸效应. 基于声子玻尔兹曼方程和修正声子平均自由程的方法得到了多约束纳米结构的声子热导率模型, 可以描述多个几何约束共同作用下热导率的尺寸效应. 不同几何约束对声子输运的限制作用可以分开计算, 总体影响则通过马西森定则进行耦合. 对于热流方向的约束, 采用扩散近似的方法求解声子玻尔兹曼方程; 对于侧面边界约束, 采用修正平均自由程的方法计算边界散射对热导率的影响. 得到的模型能够预测纳米薄膜(法向和面向)及有限长度方形纳米线的热导率随相应特征尺寸的变化. 与蒙特卡罗模拟及硅纳米结构热导率实验值的对比验证了模型的正确性.     

Theoretical calculations of thermophysical properties of single-wall carbon nanotube bundles

Carbon nanotube bundles are promising thermal interfacial materials due to their excellent thermal and mechanical characteristics.In this study,the phonon dispersion relations and density of states of the single-wall carbon nanotube bundles are calculated by using the force constant model.The calculation results show that the inter-tube interaction leads to a significant frequency raise of the low frequency modes.To verify the applied calculation method,the specific heat of a single single-wall carbon nanotube is calculated first based on the obtained phonon dispersion relations and the results coincide well with the experimental data.Moreover,the specific heat of the bundles is calculated and exhibits a slight reduction at low temperatures in comparison with that of the single tube.The thermal conductivity of the bundles at low temperatures is calculated by using the ballistic transport model.The calculation results indicate that the inter-tube interaction,i.e.van der Waals interaction,hinders heat transfer and cannot be neglected at extremely low temperatures.For(5,5) bundles,the relative difference of the thermal conductivity caused by ignoring inter-tube effect reaches the maximum value of 26% around 17 K,which indicates the significant inter-tube interaction effect on the thermal conductivity at low temperatures.     

Unraveling the effect of uniaxial strain on thermoelectric properties of Mg_2Si: A density functional theory study

In this work, the effect of uniaxial strain on electronic and thermoelectric properties of magnesium silicide using density functional theory(DFT) and Boltzmann transport equations has been studied. We have found that the value of band gap increases with tensile strain and decreases with compressive strain. The variations of electrical conductivity,Seebeck coefficient, electronic thermal conductivity, and power factor with temperatures have been calculated. The Seebeck coefficient and power factor are observed to be modified strongly with strain. The value of power factor is found to be higher in comparison with the unstrained structure at 2% tensile strain. We have also calculated phonon dispersion, phonon density of states, specific heat at constant volume, and lattice thermal conductivity of material under uniaxial strain. The phonon properties and lattice thermal conductivity of Mg_2Si under uniaxial strain have been explored first time in this report.     

The effect of the electron-phonon coupling on the thermal conductivity of silicon nanowires

The thermal conductivity of free-standing silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with diameters from 1-3?nm has been studied by using the one-dimensional Boltzmann's transport equation. Our model explicitly accounts for the Umklapp scattering process and electron-phonon coupling effects in the calculation of the phonon scattering rates. The role of the electron-phonon coupling in the heat transport is relatively small for large silicon nanowires. It is found that the effect of the electron-phonon coupling on the thermal conduction is enhanced as the diameter of the silicon nanowires decreases. Electrons in the conduction band scatter low-energy phonons effectively where surface modes dominate, resulting in a smaller thermal conductivity. Neglecting the electron-phonon coupling leads to overestimation of the thermal transport for ultra-thin SiNWs. The detailed study of the phonon density of states from the surface atoms and central atoms shows a better understanding of the nontrivial size dependence of the heat transport in silicon nanowire.     

An electrohydrodynamics model for non-equilibrium electron and phonon transport in metal films after ultra-short pulse laser heating

The electrons and phonons in metal films after ultra-short pulse laser heating are in highly non-equilibrium states not only between the electrons and the phonons but also within the electrons. An electrohydrodynamics model consisting of the balance equations of electron density, energy density of electrons, and energy density of phonons is derived from the coupled non-equilibrium electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations to study the nonlinear thermal transport by considering the electron density fluctuation and the transient electric current in metal films, after ultra-short pulse laser heating. The temperature evolution is calculated by the coupled electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations, the electrohydrodynamics model derived in this work, and the two-temperature model. Different laser pulse durations, film thicknesses, and laser fluences are considered. We find that the two-temperature model overestimates the electron temperature at the front surface of the film and underestimates the damage threshold when the nonlinear thermal transport of electrons is important. The electrohydrodynamics model proposed in this work could be a more accurate prediction tool to study the non-equilibrium electron and phonon transport process than the two-temperature model and it is much easier to be solved than the Boltzmann transport equations.     

Bias drop and phonon emission in molecular wires

Using the recursion-transfer-matrix (RTM) method combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method and density-functional theory, we perform ab initio calculations for the electron transport of molecular wires bridged between electrodes. We present an effective potential of molecular wire under a finite bias voltage and discuss the phonon emission and local heating due to inelastic electron-phonon coupling effects. We find that it is strongly dependent on contact conditions. When the contacts to electrodes are bad, excitation phonon modes at contacts become dominant for the energy dissipation.     

石墨烯的声子热学性质研究

声子是石墨烯导热过程中的主要载体,而声子的弛豫时间又是其中最基本、最重要的物理量.本文采用简正模式分解法研究了石墨烯声子的弛豫时间,并且借此分析了不同声子在导热过程中的贡献.该方法通过平衡分子动力学模拟实现,首先通过模拟得到单个声子的能量自相关函数衰减曲线,并进一步采用拟合和积分两种方法得到单个声子的弛豫时间.然后,研究了弛豫时间与波矢、频率和温度的关系.结果发现,弛豫时间随波矢的变化与对应的色散关系相近,弛豫时间与频率和温度的关系符合理论模型:1/τ=νnTm,其中声学支的n为1.56,而光学支结果较为发散,指数m对于不同声子支结果略有不同.最后,还研究了不同频率声子对导热的贡献,发现低频声子在态密度上占有绝对优势,并且其弛豫时间整体高于高频声子,所以低频声子对导热的贡献占据主导地位.     

Interlayer vacancy effects on the phonon modes in AB stacked bilayer graphene nanoribbon

We explore the effects of interlayer vacancy defects on the vibrational properties of Bernal (AB) stacking bilayer armchair graphene nanoribbons (BiAGNRs) using the forced vibrational method. It is observed that the Raman active longitudinal optical (LO) phonon of BiAGNR is shifted downward with the decrease of the ribbon width and an increase of the vacancy concentrations. We find that vacancies induce some new peaks in the low frequency regime of the phonon density of states. Our calculated typical mode patterns elucidate that the localized transverse optical phonon at the K-point is shifted towards the defect sites from the edges with increased vacancy concentrations. In addition, the impact of defect induced phonon modes on the specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of BiAGNRs are discussed. These results present a new way of understanding the heat dissipation phenomena of graphene-based high-performance nanodevices and to clarify the Raman and the experiments related to the phonon properties.     

Investigation on thermal conductivity of graphene/Si heterostructure with different defect ratios and sizes

The thermal conductivity (TC) of graphene/Si heterostructures with different defect ratios and sizes was investigated using the molecular dynamics method. As the defect ratio of heterostructure increased, the TC decreased first sharply and then slowly under a high temperature stage. The TC of heterostructure also showed a significant size effect. This phenomenon was explained by phonon dispersion and flip competition. The phonon density of states for the graphene heterostructure with different defect ratios and sizes was obtained to understand the thermal transport mechanism. Analysis showed that with the increase in the defect ratio and when the flexural modes of the heterostructure became weak, the longitudinal and transverse modes gradually dominated the phonon transport. This phenomenon can be explained that the Si atom vibration was harder in the vertical plane than that of graphene. The vibration mode hindered the heat carrier of graphene and affected heat transport to the heterostructure.     

超晶格和层状结构传热特性的连续模型及其在能源材料设计中的应用

层状材料和超晶格结构为提高热电材料和隔热涂层提供了新的设计思路, 并成为最近的研究热点. 应用连续波动方程和线性阻尼理论, 本文研究了此类材料中的声子输运特性. 给出了在整个相空间里的界面调制和声子局域化效应, 得出了超晶格材料热导率的上极限和下极限; 同时, 分析表明界面锐化加强了声子带隙, 使得部分模态的声子局域化加强. 最后, 通过对石墨烯/氮化硼超晶格(G/hBN)和硅/锗超晶格的分子模拟(Si/Ge), 验证了该理论模型. 该方法适用于所有的层状材料和超晶格结构, 对此类新能源材料的设计提供了普适的设计思路.