Phonon Transport Modeling Using Boltzmann Transport Equation With Anisotropic Relaxation Times

A sub-micron thermal transport model based on the phonon Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) is developed using anisotropic relaxation times. A previously-published model, the full-scattering model, developed by Wang, directly computes three-phonon scattering interactions by enforcing energy and momentum conservation. However, it is computationally very expensive because it requires the evaluation of millions of scattering interactions during the iterative numerical solution procedure. The anisotropic relaxation time model employs a single-mode relaxation time, but the relaxation time is derived from detailed consideration of three-phonon interactions satisfying conservation rules, and is a function of wave vector. The resulting model is significantly less expensive than the full-scattering model, but incorporates directional and dispersion behavior. A critical issue in the model development is the role of three-phonon normal (N) scattering processes. Following Callaway, the overall relaxation rate is modified to include the shift in the phonon distribution function due to N processes. The relaxation times so obtained are compared with the data extracted from equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations by Henry and Chen. The anisotropic relaxation time phonon BTE model is validated by comparing the predicted thermal conductivities of bulk silicon and silicon thin films with experimental measurements. The model is then used for simulating thermal transport in a silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) and leads to results close to the full-scattering model, but uses much less computation time.