Thermal rectification is of importance not only for fundamental physics, but also for potential applications in thermal manipulations and thermal management. However, thermal rectification effect usually decays rapidly with system size. Here, we show that a mass-graded system, with two diffusive leads separated by a ballistic spacer, can exhibit large thermal rectification effect, with the rectification factor independent of system size. The underlying mechanism is explained in terms of the effective size-independent thermal gradient and the match or mismatch of the phonon bands. We also show the robustness of the thermal diode upon variation of the model's parameters. Our finding suggests a promising way for designing realistic efficient thermal diodes.

Efficient thermal diode with ballistic spacer

Benenti, Giuliano
;
Casati, Giulio
2018-01-01

Abstract

Thermal rectification is of importance not only for fundamental physics, but also for potential applications in thermal manipulations and thermal management. However, thermal rectification effect usually decays rapidly with system size. Here, we show that a mass-graded system, with two diffusive leads separated by a ballistic spacer, can exhibit large thermal rectification effect, with the rectification factor independent of system size. The underlying mechanism is explained in terms of the effective size-independent thermal gradient and the match or mismatch of the phonon bands. We also show the robustness of the thermal diode upon variation of the model's parameters. Our finding suggests a promising way for designing realistic efficient thermal diodes.
2018
http://harvest.aps.org/v2/bagit/articles/10.1103/PhysRevE.97.030101/apsxml
Statistical and Nonlinear Physics; Statistics and Probability; Condensed Matter Physics
Chen, Shunda; Donadio, Davide; Benenti, Giuliano; Casati, Giulio
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11383/2074001
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