Current-Voltage Characteristics of Long-Channel Nanobundle Thin-Film Transistors: A Bottom-up Perspective

By generalizing the classical linear response theory of stick percolation to nonlinear regime, we find that the drain current of a Nanobundle Thin Film Transistor (NB-TFT) is described under a rather general set of conditions by a universal scaling formula ID = A/LS g(LS/LC, rho_S * LS * LS) f(VG, VD), where A is a technology-specific constant, g is function of geometrical factors like stick length (LS), channel length (LC), and stick density (rho_S) and f is a function of drain (VD) and gate (VG) biasing conditions. This scaling formula implies that the measurement of full I-V characteristics of a single NB-TFT is sufficient to predict the performance characteristics of any other transistor with arbitrary geometrical parameters and biasing conditions

Quantum criticality near the Stoner transition in a two-dot with spin-orbit coupling

We study a system of two tunnel-coupled quantum dots, with the first dot containing interacting electrons (described by the Universal Hamiltonian) not subject to spin-orbit coupling, whereas the second contains non-interacting electrons subject to spin-orbit coupling. We focus on describing the behavior of the system near the Stoner transition. Close to the critical point quantum fluctuations become important and the system enters a quantum critical regime. The large-$N$ approximation allows us to calculate physical quantitites reliably even in this strongly fluctuating regime. In particular, we find a scaling function to describe the crossover of the quasiparticle decay rate between the renormalized Fermi liquid regime and the quantum critical regime.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Large spin-orbit effects in small quantum dots

We consider small ballistic quantum dots weakly coupled to the leads in the chaotic regime and look for significant spin-orbit effects. We find that these effects can become quite prominent in the vicinity of degeneracies of many-body energies. We illustrate the idea by considering a case where the intrinsic exchange term -JS^2 brings singlet and triplet many-body states near each other, while an externally tunable Zeeman term then closes the gap between the singlet and the one of the triplet states (with spin projection parallel the external field). Near this degeneracy, the spin-orbit coupling leads to a striking temperature dependence of the conductance, with observable effects of order unity at temperatures lower than the strength of the spin-orbit coupling. Under favorable circumstances, spelled out in the paper, these order unity effects in the conductance persist to temperatures much higher than the spin-orbit coupling strength. Our conclusions are unaffected by the presence of non-universal perturbations. We suggest a class of experiments to explore this regime.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Transport in Flat Heat Pipes at High Heat Fluxes from Multiple Discrete Sources

A three-dimensional model has been developed to analyze the transient and steady-state performance of flat heat pipes subjected to heating with multiple discrete heat sources. Three-dimensional flow and energy equations are solved in the vapor and liquid regions, along with conduction in the wall. Saturated flow models are used for heat transfer and fluid flow through the wick. In the wick region, the analysis uses an equilibrium model for heat transfer and a Brinkman-Forchheimer extended Darcy model for fluid flow. Averaged properties weighted with the porosity are used for the wick analysis. The state equation is used in the vapor core to relate density change to the operating pressure. The density change due to pressurization of the vapor core is accounted for in the continuity equation. Vapor flow, temperature and hydrodynamic pressure fields are computed at each time step from coupled continuity/momentum and energy equations in the wick and vapor regions. The mass flow rate at the interface is obtained from the application of kinetic theory. Predictions are made for the magnitude of heat flux at which dryout would occur in a flat heat pipe. The input heat flux and the spacing between the discrete heat sources are studied as parameters. The location in the heat pipe at which dryout is initiated is found to be different from that of the maximum temperature. The location where the maximum capillary pressure head is realized also changes during the transient. Axial conduction through the wall and wick are seen to play a significant role in determining the axial temperature variation

Analysis of the Wicking and Thin-film Evaporation Characteristics of Microstructures

The topology and geometry of microstructures play a crucial role in determining their heat transfer performance in passive cooling devices such as heat pipes. It is therefore important to characterize microstructures based on their wicking performance, the thermal conduction resistance of the liquid filling the microstructure, and the thin-film characteristics of the liquid meniscus. In the present study, the free-surface shapes of the static liquid meniscus in common microstructures are modeled using SURFACE EVOLVER for zero Bond number. Four well-defined topologies, viz., surfaces with parallel rectangular ribs, horizontal parallel cylinders, vertically aligned cylinders, and spheres (the latter two in both square and hexagonal packing arrangements), are considered. Nondimensional capillary pressure, average distance of the liquid free-surface from solid walls (a measure of the conduction resistance of the liquid), total exposed area, and thin-film area are computed. These performance parameters are presented as functions of the nondimensional geometrical parameters characterizing the microstructures, the volume of the liquid filling the structure, and the contact angle between the liquid and solid. Based on these performance parameters, hexagonally-packed spheres on a surface are identified to be the most efficient microstructure geometry for wicking and thin-film evaporation. The solid-liquid contact angle and the nondimensional liquid volume that yield the best performance are also identified. The optimum liquid level in the wick pore that yields the highest capillary pressure and heat transfer is obtained by analyzing the variation in capillary pressure and heat transfer with liquid level and using an effective thermal resistance model for the wick

A Two-Temperature Model for the Analysis of Passive Thermal Control Systems

Passive control of steady and unsteady thermal loads using effective thermal conductivity enhancers, such as metal foams, internal fins and metal filler particles, is being explored for a variety of electronics applications. The interstices are filled with air, phase change materials, or other fluids. Local thermal equilibrium between the solid filler and the matrix is not ensured in such systems since their thermal diffusivities are frequently very different. The use of a single volume-averaged energy equation for both the phases cannot be justified in such situations. A two-medium approach is used in the present work to account for the local thermal non-equilibrium. Separate energy equations are written for the solid and fluid respectively, and are closed using a steady-state interphase heat transfer coefficient between the two phases. A general momentum equation which includes the Brinkman-Forchheimer extension to Darcy flow is employed. The resulting equations are solved implicitly using a fully transient method on fixed orthogonal co-located finite volumes. Unsteady natural convection in a metal-foam filled cavity is computed. The influence of various parameters such as the ratios of solid-to-fluid thermal conductivities and heat capacities, Rayleigh number, Prandtl number and Darcy number on the thermal and flow fields is investigated. The results illustrate that local thermal equilibrium is not assured, either during the transient or at steady state for the range of parameters considered. Furthermore, even if the steady-state solid-to-fluid temperature differences are small, large temperature differences are seen during the unsteady response

Direct Simulation of Transport in Open-Cell Metal Foams

Flows in porous media may be modeled using two major classes of approaches: (a) a macroscopic approach, where volume-averaged semiempirical equations are used to describe flow characteristics, and (b) a microscopic approach, where small-scale flow details are simulated by considering the specific geometry of the porous medium. In the first approach, small-scale details are ignored and the information so lost is represented in the governing equations using an engineering model. In the second, the intricate geometry of the porous structures is accounted for and the transport through these structures computed. The latter approach is computationally expensive if the entire physical domain were to be simulated. Computational time can be reduced by exploiting periodicity when it exists. In the present work we carry out a direct simulation of the transport in an open-cell metal foam using a periodic unit cell. The foam geometry is created by assuming the pore to be spherical. The spheres are located at the vertices and at the center of the unit cell. The periodic foam geometry is obtained by subtracting the unit cell cube from the spheres. Fluid and heat flow are computed in the periodic unit cell. Our objective in the present study is to obtain the effective thermal conductivity, pressure drop, and local heat transfer coefficient from a consistent direct simulation of the open-cell foam structure. The computed values compare well with the existing experimental measurements and semiempirical models for porosities greater than 94%. The results and the merits of the present approach are discussed

A Two-Temperature Model for Solid/Liquid Phase Change in Metal Foams

Transient solid-liquid phase change occurring in a phase-change material (PCM) embedded in a metal foam is investigated. Natural convection in the melt is considered. Volume-averaged mass and momentum equations are employed, with the Brinkman- Forchheimer extension to the Darcy law to model the porous resistance. Owing to the difference in the thermal diffusivities between the metal foam and the PCM, local thermal equilibrium between the two is not assured. Assuming equilibrium melting at the pore scale, separate volume-averaged energy equations are written for the solid metal foam and the PCM and are closed using an interstitial heat transfer coefficient. The enthalpy method is employed to account for phase change. The governing equations are solved implicitly using the finite volume method on a fixed grid. The influence of Rayleigh, Stefan, and interstitial Nusselt numbers on the temporal evolution of the melt front location, wall Nusselt number, temperature differentials between the solid and fluid, and the melting rate is documented and discussed. The merits of incorporating metal foam for improving the effective thermal conductivity of thermal storage systems are discussed

Simulation of Thermal Transport in Open-Cell Metal Foams: Effect of Periodic Unit Cell Structure

Direct simulation of thermal transport in open-cell metal foams is conducted using different periodic unit-cell geometries. The periodic unit-cell structures are constructed by assuming the pore space to be spherical and subtracting the pore space from a unit cube of the metal. Different types of packing arrangement for spheres are considered—body centered cubic, face centered cubic, and the A15 lattice (similar to a Weaire-Phelan unit cell)—which give rise to different foam structures. Effective thermal conductivity, pressure drop, and Nusselt number are computed by imposing periodic boundary conditions for aluminum foams saturated with air or water. The computed values compare well with existing experimental measurements and semiempirical models for porosities greater than 80%. The effect of different foam packing arrangements on the computed thermal and fluid flow characteristics is discussed. The capabilities and limitations of the present approach are identified