Thermal Rectification and Thermal Logic Gates in Graded Alloy Semiconductors

Classical thermal rectification arises from the contact between two dissimilar bulk materials, each with a thermal conductivity (k) with a different temperature dependence. Here, we study thermal rectification in a SiGe alloy with a spatial dependence on the atomic composition. Rectification factors...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ng, Ryan C., Castro-Álvarez, Alejandro, Sotomayor Torres, C. M., Chávez-Angel, Emigdio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::a4aa4a7e72b3891a35e9124c85caa260
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/280767
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Thermal rectifier
Alloy
Logic gate
Rectification
Descripción
Sumario:Classical thermal rectification arises from the contact between two dissimilar bulk materials, each with a thermal conductivity (k) with a different temperature dependence. Here, we study thermal rectification in a SiGe alloy with a spatial dependence on the atomic composition. Rectification factors (R = k/k) of up to 3.41 were found. We also demonstrate the suitability of such an alloy for logic gates using a thermal AND gate as an example by controlling the thermal conductivity profile via the alloy composition. This system is readily extendable to other alloys, since it only depends on the effective thermal conductivity. These thermal devices are inherently advantageous alternatives to their electric counterparts, as they may be able to take advantage of otherwise undesired waste heat in the surroundings. Furthermore, the demonstration of logic operations is a step towards thermal computation.