Microscopic analysis of heat transfer in I1/N/I2 heterogeneous nanostructures at low temperatures

Abstract

The article presents a kinetic approach, in which the transverse heat transfer through a metal layer located between two massive dielectrics is analytically considered. The effective transverse thermal conductivity of such a layered system is calculated for an arbitrary value of the thickness of the metal layer and the thickness is found at which the size effect appears in thermal conductivity. Transverse heat transfer is also analyzed in the framework of the phenomenological two-temperature (2TM) model, i.e., in terms of electron and phonon temperatures. Comparison the results of 2TM and the microscopic approach allows us to find out the conditions under which the frequently used two-temperature approach is not applicable.