CSC/Paris-Saclay University cooperation program 2024

PhD thesis project title:

Heat transfer optimization across solid-solid interfaces by

nanoscale surface engineering

Scientific field: Thermal physics and energy

Doctoral school: Mechanical and Energy Sciences, Materials and Geosciences, SMEMaG Doctoral
School (ED 579)

Host laboratory: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Sciences du Numérique (LISN) , Université Paris
Saclay, Orsay, France

PhD supervisor:
Name: Jay AMRIT
Position: Associate Professor
Affiliation : LISN-Paris-Saclay University, Orsay, France
Email : jay.amrit@limsi.fr

Co-supervisor:
Name: Aymeric RAMIERE
Position: Associate Professor
Affiliation: College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen,
China
Email: ramiere@szu.edu.cn

Keywords: heat transfer, solid-solid interfaces, surface roughness, phonons (quantized heat carriers),
Kapitza resistance

I. CONTEXT
Interfaces represent a major obstacle to the heat flow and, therefore an important limitation to heat
dissipation in modern nano devices1,2. Indeed, when the heat flow arrives at an interface between two
materials, a sudden drop in temperature occurs (see Fig. 1a). This temperature drop is due to the thermal
contact resistance. A high thermal contact resistance means that most of the heat flow is blocked at the
interface, resulting in a high temperature in the first material while the second material – at the other
side of the interface – remains relatively cold. Reciprocally, a low thermal contact resistance will allow
most of the heat flow to cross the interface, resulting in a small difference in temperature between the
two materials.

Most nano-devices, including computer CPUs, are made of several materials that are stacked on
each other, creating many interfaces. Some interfaces need to minimize heat crossing to prevent
overheating of sensitive parts while other interfaces must optimize the heat transfer to quickly evacuate
the heat. Semiconductor/Metal interfaces are the most common in electronic devices. It is therefore a
major scientific and environmental issue to obtain both high and low thermal contact resistances from
the same materials at a Semiconductor/Metal interface.

Nanoscale roughness at the interface is known to have a strong impact on the thermal contact
resistance3 (Fig. 1b). A direct relationship between nanoscale roughness and the thermal wavelength
revealed that the thermal contact resistance at Solid/Liquid interfaces is controlled by a resonant
scattering mechanism4 (Fig. 1c). It indicates that it is possible to tune the thermal contact resistance by
engineering the nanoscale surface roughness.

Figure 1: a) Schematic of the thermal boundary resistance phenomenon at a Silicon/Superfluid Helium

interface. b) Nanoscale surface roughness of a Silicon crystal. c) Relationship between the thermal
wavelength and the surface roughness obtained from thermal boundary resistance measurements.

II. RESEARCH PROJECT : OBJECTIVES and MEANS

This project focuses on experimental measurements of the thermal contact resistance (also called
Kapitza resistance) of Silicon/Metal interfaces where the nanoscale roughness of the silicon will be
engineered using nanoscale surface treatments. The candidate will be based at Paris-Saclay University
with collaboration with China and eventually Japan.

First, the preparation and characterization of the interface will be carried out at Shenzhen
University (China), in the group of Prof. RAMIERE. The surface of a flat Silicon crystal will be
roughened using chemical etching and then characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Finally,
a layer of metal will be deposited on the Silicon surface using e-beam vapor deposition. Verification
of the final interface shall be performed using high-resolution microscopy on cross-sections. The
candidate will conduct quality control at each step of this process and gather all morphological
properties for analysis.

The thermal contact measurements will be carried out at Paris-Saclay University in a CNRS
laboratory under supervision of Prof. AMRIT. Heater and thermometers will be attached to the
surface and the sample will be mounted on a custom-made chip carrier. The candidate will design the
chip carrier and install the device in an existing Helium-3 cryostat. Since the thermal contact resistance
will be measured at very low temperatures (down to 0.5 K), the “dc” technique will be used.

Finally, the experimental measurements of the thermal contact resistance will be carefully
analyzed to find the relationship with the nanoscale morphology of the interface. This analysis could
be completed in collaboration with Prof. VOLZ at the University of Tokyo to perform numerical
simulations and gain a better understanding of the physical mechanisms for future models.

III. COLLABORATIONS
1. France - China
The candidate will be based full-time at Paris-Saclay University in France and will work in close
collaboration with the team of Prof. RAMIERE at Shenzhen University in China to fabricate the
desired interfaces.

2. Other
Besides the experimental work, another important aspect will be the interpretation of the data. We
plan to collaborate with Prof. VOLZ at the University of Tokyo (LIMMS/CNRS) who has extensive
expertise in simulation of nanoscale heat transport.

IV. EXPECTATIONS
Publications: The candidate is expected to write scientific papers and publish the results in renown
international scientific journals.
Outreach: Participation to international conferences is expected.
Network: The candidate will be integrated to the European community of nanoscale heat transfer

V. REQUIRED SKILLS
Scientific knowledge: solid-state physics, thermal physics and thermodynamics.
Language: Very good communication skills in English (work proficiency)
Others: High motivation for experimental studies and able to work autonomously. Computing skills
will be appreciated.

VI. REFERENCES
1. Giri, A. & Hopkins, P. E. A Review of Experimental and Computational Advances in Thermal Boundary
Conductance and Nanoscale Thermal Transport across Solid Interfaces. Adv. Funct. Mater. 30, 1903857
(2020).
2. Chen, J., Xu, X., Zhou, J. & Li, B. Interfacial thermal resistance: Past, present, and future. Rev. Mod.
Phys. 94, 25002 (2022).
3. Amrit, J. Impact of surface roughness temperature dependency on the thermal contact resistance between
Si(111) and liquid He4. Phys. Rev. B 81, 54303 (2010).
4. Ramiere, A., Volz, S. & Amrit, J. Thermal resistance at a solid/superfluid helium interface. Nat. Mater.
15, 512–516 (2016).