Specular Reflection Leads to Maximum Reduction in Thermal Conductivity

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that smooth, specular surfaces in thin films can significantly reduce thermal conductivity more effectively than rough, diffuse surfaces, challenging traditional approaches.

Contribution

It introduces a new paradigm showing that specular surface scattering in thin films leads to greater thermal conductivity reduction than diffuse scattering.

Findings

Specular scattering achieves maximum heat conduction reduction.

Smooth surfaces outperform rough surfaces in thermal suppression.

New approach challenges traditional diffuse scattering methods.

Abstract

In contrast to established work that use diffuse surface scattering as the mechanism to lower the thermal conductivities, we show that the largest reduction of heat conduction in thin films is achieved via specular scattering. Our results create a new paradigm for heat conduction manipulation since smooth surfaces , in contrast to rough surfaces , are shown to be more effective on suppressing heat conduction.