Electronic Thermal Conduction in Thin Gold Films

Abstract

In this work, electronic thermal conduction in thin gold film is modeled via the Boltzmann Transport Equation (BTE). The BTE is solved using a Monte Carlo Method (MCM). Temperature profiles for various film thicknesses are computed. Results show that the electronic thermal transport in gold is still diffusion-like at film thicknesses as small as 100 nm, implying that the Fourier law of conduction can be applied at this scale to predict the steady-state thermal heat transfer without comprising the physics. However, the Fourier law does not predict the temperature profiles accurately if the film thickness is reduced to 10 nm or below.