Thermal conductivity in thin silicon nanowires: phonon confinement effect.

Thermal conductivity of thin silicon nanowires (1.4-8.3 nm) including the realistic crystalline structures and surface reconstruction effects is investigated using direct molecular dynamics simulations with Stillinger-Weber potential for Si-Si interactions. Thermal conductivity as a function of decreasing nanowire diameter shows an expected decrease due to increased surface scattering effects. However, at very small diameter (<1.5 nm), an increase in the thermal conductivity is observed, which is explained by the phonon confinement effect.