Thermal diffusivity and heat capacity of SiGe/Si superlattice from 374 K to 674 K

Abstract

In this work, we examine the thermal diffusivity of Si/SiGe thin-film superlattice (SL) structures and use these results with pervious thermal conductivity results to calculate the heat capacity from 374 K to 674 K. The thermal properties of semiconductor layered structures can be altered through the use of SL structures. This alteration occurs through two possible mechanisms: increased phonon scattering due to rough interfaces and phonon zone folding due to boundary conditions of the propagating waves. Examining the heat capacity allows for the observation of phonon zone folding effects while limiting effects due to scattering. Structures studied here consist of SiGe SLs grown at different temperatures and with varying SL spacing allowing the examination of period and crystallinity effects on thermal properties. Previously reported results show that for SL structures both crystalline and polycrystalline have a thermal conductivity of approximately 1 W/mK measured over temperatures ranging from 374 K to 674 K. In this work, thermal diffusivity was measured through laser flash analysis, with crystalline SL structures showing values <1 mm2/s, while the thermal diffusivity of the polycrystalline structure was found to be twice that of the crystalline structure over the temperature range. In all instances, the heat capacities for the SL structures are found to be lower than that for a uniform thin film alloy, indicating a significant contribution of phonon dispersion modification to the heat capacity.