Monte Carlo simulation of thermal conductivity of Si nanowire: An investigation on the phonon confinement effect on the thermal transport

Thermal conductivity of Si nanowire is calculated by applying Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of 110 nm, 37 nm, and 22 nm wire diameter. To study the thermal conductivity of both thick and thin nanowires different phonon group velocity is used in the simulation. This change in the phonon velocity for small diameter nanowire is due to the phonon confinement effect, which decreases the slope of phonon acoustic modes. Very good agreement with previously reported experimental value is obtained for all nanowire diameters. Another investigation by using average relaxation time approximation is also discussed along with the Monte Carlo simulation. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4757633]