Chapter 12 - Experimental Studies of Thermal Transport in Nanostructures

Abstract

This chapter discusses recent advances in experimental studies of thermal transport through individual carbon and silicon nanostructures. It begins with a description of the experimental techniques that have been widely used for measuring thermal transport through these nanostructures, which include a thermal bridge method based on suspended micro-devices and the 3ω technique. Measurement results of thermal transport through individual carbon nanomaterials (i.e., carbon nanotubes, graphene, and thin graphite films) and their contacts are then reviewed and the related underlying physics is presented. The chapter also introduces major findings in thermal transport through individual silicon nanostructures (i.e., silicon nanowires, ribbons/films, and tubes) and summarizes the novel nanoconfinement and scattering effects that have been discovered so far. Finally the chapter provides a summary and outlook for thermal transport studies of nanomaterials.