Thermal Rectification and Thermal Logic Gates in Graded Alloy Semiconductors

Ryan C. Ng, Alejandro Castro-Alvarez, Clivia M. Sotomayor-Torres and Emigdio Chávez-Ángel
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Ryan C. Ng: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC, and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Alejandro Castro-Alvarez: Centro de Excelencia en Medicina Traslacional, Laboratorio de Bioproductos Farmacéuticos y Cosméticos, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Clivia M. Sotomayor-Torres: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC, and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Emigdio Chávez-Ángel: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC, and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-10

Abstract: Classical thermal rectification arises from the contact between two dissimilar bulk materials, each with a thermal conductivity ( k ) with a different temperature dependence. Here, we study thermal rectification in a Si (1− x ) Ge x alloy with a spatial dependence on the atomic composition. Rectification factors ( R = k max / k min ) of up to 3.41 were found. We also demonstrate the suitability of such an alloy for logic gates using a thermal AND gate as an example by controlling the thermal conductivity profile via the alloy composition. This system is readily extendable to other alloys, since it only depends on the effective thermal conductivity. These thermal devices are inherently advantageous alternatives to their electric counterparts, as they may be able to take advantage of otherwise undesired waste heat in the surroundings. Furthermore, the demonstration of logic operations is a step towards thermal computation.

Keywords: thermal rectifier; alloy; rectification; logic gate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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