Thermal conductivity of germanium, silicon, and carbon nitrides

We present a model calculation of the thermal conductivity of germanium nitride, silicon nitride, and carbon nitride in a temperature range in which intrinsic phonon scattering is dominant. We show that, in spite of the rather complex crystal structure of these nitrides, thermal conductivities exceeding 100 W m(-1) K-1 can be attained in some of these compounds due to the combination of high Debye temperature and small Gruneisen constant. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics. [DOI:10.1063/1.1533840].