TABLE OF CONTENTS One of the thrust areas of research in micro/nanoscale heat transfer is related to transport processes in solid state devices. In the early 1990s, much research had been done to identify the regimes when the microscale effect must be considered in dealing with problems occurring at small length scales and/or timescales. [1] , [2] Cahill et al. provided a more recent survey on the thermal phenomena and measurement techniques associated with solid state devices. [3] The critical dimensions of integrated circuits have continued to shrink during the past few decades, with printing features currently already below 100 nm; some are approaching the 10-nm limit of most available fabrication technologies. Overheating caused by thermal energy generation is a major source of device failure, and it often occurs in very small regions, known as hot spots. A remarkable number of micro/nanostructured materials and systems have temperature-dependent figures of merit. Therefore, understanding the thermophysical properties, thermal transport physics, and thermal metrology from the micrometer down to the nanometer length scales is critically important for future development of microelectronic devices and nanobiotechnology.
This chapter focuses on simple phonon theory and electronic theory of the specific heat, thermal conductivity, and thermoelectricity of metals and insulators. The Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) has been used to facilitate the understanding of microscopic behavior, together with the quantum statistics of phonons and electrons. The quantum size effect on phonon specific heat is extensively covered. Examples are given to analyze direct thermoelectric conversion for temperature measurement, power...
