Anharmonic Quantum Transport Analysis of Thermal Transport Anomalies in Ultrathin Silicon Nanowires
This research investigated why thermal conductivity ($κ$) in ultrathin silicon nanowires (NWs) doesn't change smoothly with diameter. Using a quantum-mechanical approach combining machine learning potentials and non-equilibrium Green's functions, the study found that $κ$ decreases to a minimum at specific diameters due to the competition between different phonon scattering mechanisms at both room temperature and cryogenic temperatures.