Temperature dependenceof thermal conductivities of dense pure iron oxides and iron.

A relatively large sample of gallium nitride (GaN) was grown as a single crystal using the hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) process. The thermal diffusivity of the single crystal has been measured using a vertical-type laser flash method. The thermal expansion was measured using a dilatometer in order to estimate the thermal diffusivity with sufficient reliability. The effect of sample thickness and temperature on thermal diffusivity was evaluated. The specific heat capacity of GaN was also measured by using a differential scanning calorimeter. The thermal properties of single-crystal GaN have been compared with the measured thermal properties of single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC). The thermal conductivity of single-crystal GaN at room temperature is found to be 253 AE 8:8% W/mK, which is approximately 60% of the value obtained for SiC. The excellent thermal property that is obtained in this study clearly indicates that GaN crystals are one of the promising materials for use in high-power-switching devices.

We have developed an apparatus to measure thermal effusivity distribution in solid materials with a high spatial resolution better than 10μm by the thermoreflectance technique and the periodic heating method. A metal film sputtered on the surface of a sample is periodically heated by a modulated laser beam. The temperature response is measured by using another thin laser beam as a thermoreflectance signal. The thermal effusivity of the sample is derived from the phase lag of the temperature response from the periodic heating. Measurements of a functionally graded material and a fiber composite material are presented as application examples of this thermal effusivity distribution measurement technique.

We have performed three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations to investigate strain and stress distributions in silicon nanostructures covered with thermal oxide films, by using our original molecular force field for Si, O mixed systems. We have modeled a wire-shaped nanostructure by carving a Si(001) substrate, and then an oxide film with a uniform thickness was formed by inserting oxygen atom into Si-Si bonds from the surface. The simulation results show that a compressive stress is concentrated on the oxide region in the vicinity of the side SiO 2 /Si interface of the nanowire. At the top interface, there is also a compressive stress in the [110] direction, whereas the [001] component of the normal stress tensor is almost relaxed. These results suggest that the oxidation is strongly suppressed at the side faces of the silicon nanowire.