Nanotube Phonon Waveguide

C. W. Chang, D. Okawa, H. Garcia, A. Majumdar, and A. Zettl
Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 045901 – Published 25 July 2007

Abstract

We find that the high thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes remains intact under severe structural deformations while the corresponding electrical resistance and thermoelectric power show compromised responses. Similar robust thermal transport against bending is found for boron nitride nanotubes. Surprisingly, for both systems the phonon mean free path exceeds the characteristic length of structural ripples induced by bending and approaches the theoretical limit set by the radius of curvature. The robustness of heat conduction in nanotubes refines the ultimate limit that is far beyond the reach of ordinary materials.

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  • Received 2 May 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.045901

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

C. W. Chang1,2,*, D. Okawa1, H. Garcia1, A. Majumdar2,3,4, and A. Zettl1,2,4,†

  • 1Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 2Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems, University of California at Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 3Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 4Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

  • *chihwei@berkeley.edu
  • azettl@berkeley.edu

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Vol. 99, Iss. 4 — 27 July 2007

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