Enhanced interfacial thermal conductance across Si/defected SiC interface


Sekerbayev K.S. Farzadian O. Abdullaev A. Wang Y. Utegulov Z.N.
29 December 2025American Institute of Physics

Applied Physics Letters
2025#127Issue 26

The effect of point defects (PDs) on interfacial thermal conductance (ITC) at the Si/3C–SiC interface is systematically investigated by nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. Various PDs are introduced in the SiC interface region with atomic concentrations up to 5%. Our results show that carbon related vacancies significantly enhance ITC, with a linear increase observed as defect concentration rises. An amorphous SiC (a-SiC) interlayer is also modeled as a limiting case of defect-induced structural damage, resulting in a 35% increase in ITC compared to the pristine interface. Spectral decomposition and phonon-resolved analysis imply that defect-induced improvement in ITC takes place primarily due to low-frequency (below 10THz) propagating phonons. The trade-off between improved heat transfer across the interface and reduced bulk thermal transport caused by defect-induced scattering is discussed. These findings provide valuable insight into phonon-mediated interfacial heat transport and demonstrate the potential of defect engineering strategies to improve interfacial thermal management in advanced SiC-based energy systems.



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Laboratory of Computational Materials Science, Center for Energy and Advanced Materials Science, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Department of Physics, School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Nazarbayev University Research Administration, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

Laboratory of Computational Materials Science
Department of Physics
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
Nazarbayev University Research Administration

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