Pore-size dependence of the thermal conductivity of porous silicon: A phonon hydrodynamic approach

Phonon hydrodynamics is used to analyze the influence of porosity and of pore size on reduction in thermal conductivity in porous silicon, with respect to crystalline silicon. The expressions predict that the thermal conductivity is lower for higher porosity and for smaller pore radius, as a consequence of phonon ballistic effects. The theoretical results describe experimental data better than the assumption that they only depend on porosity. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3462936]