Lossless Phonon Transition Through GaN-Diamond and Si-Diamond Interfaces

Mohamadali Malakoutian; Kelly Woo; Dennis Rich; Ramandeep Mandia; Xiang Zheng; Anna Kasperovich; Devansh Saraswat; Rohith Soman; Youhwan Jo; Thomas Pfeifer; Taesoon Hwang; Henry Aller; Jeongkyu Kim; Junrui Lyu; Janelle Keionna Mabrey; Thomas Andres Rodriguez; James Pomeroy; Patrick E. Hopkins; Samuel Graham; David J. Smith; Subhasish Mitra; Kyeongjae Cho; Martin Kuball; Srabanti Chowdhury

doi:10.1002/aelm.202400146

Lossless Phonon Transition Through GaN-Diamond and Si-Diamond Interfaces

Mohamadali Malakoutian
, Kelly Woo
, Dennis Rich
, Ramandeep Mandia
, Xiang Zheng
, Anna Kasperovich
, Devansh Saraswat
, Rohith Soman
, Youhwan Jo
, Thomas Pfeifer
, Taesoon Hwang
, Henry Aller
, Jeongkyu Kim
, Junrui Lyu
, Janelle Keionna Mabrey
, Thomas Andres Rodriguez
, James Pomeroy
, Patrick E. Hopkins
, Samuel Graham
, David J. Smith

Subhasish Mitra, Kyeongjae Cho, Martin Kuball, Srabanti Chowdhury

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Advancing Silicon (Si) technology beyond Moore's law through 3D architectures requires highly efficient heat management methods compatible with foundry processes. While continued increases in transistor density can be achieved through 3D architectures, self-heating in the upper tiers degrades the performance. Self-heating is a critical problem for high-power, high-frequency, wide bandgap, and ultra-wide bandgap devices as well. Diamond, known for its exceptional thermal conductivity, offers a viable solution in both these cases. Since thermal boundary resistance (between the channel/junction and diamond plays a crucial role in overall thermal resistance, this study investigates various dielectrics for interface engineering, such as Silicon dioxide (SiO₂), amorphous- Silicon Carbide (a-SiC), and Silicon Nitride (SiN_x), to make a phonon bridge at gallium nitride (GaN)-diamond and Si-diamond interfaces. The a-SiC interlayer reduces diamond/GaN (<5 m²K per GW) and diamond/Si (<2 m²K per GW) thermal boundary resistances by linking low- and high-frequency phonons, boosting phonon transport through the interface. Engineered interfaces enhance heat spreading from the channel/junction and rule out premature failure.

Original language	English
Article number	2400146
Journal	Advanced Electronic Materials
Volume	11
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400146
State	Published - Jan 2025
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This work was supported in part by DARPA-DSSP, the SystemX Alliance program at Stanford University, and ULTRA, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES). P.H. and T.P. appreciate the support from the Office of Naval Research Grant Number N00014-23-1-2630. This work was supported in part by DARPA‐DSSP, the SystemX Alliance program at Stanford University, and ULTRA, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES). P.H. and T.P. appreciate the support from the Office of Naval Research Grant Number N00014‐23‐1‐2630.

Keywords

Moore's law
diamond
interface engineering
thermal boundary resistance
thermal management
ultra-wide-bandgap
wide-bandgap

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10.1002/aelm.202400146

Cite this

Malakoutian, M., Woo, K., Rich, D., Mandia, R., Zheng, X., Kasperovich, A., Saraswat, D., Soman, R., Jo, Y., Pfeifer, T., Hwang, T., Aller, H., Kim, J., Lyu, J., Mabrey, J. K., Rodriguez, T. A., Pomeroy, J., Hopkins, P. E., Graham, S., ... Chowdhury, S. (2025). Lossless Phonon Transition Through GaN-Diamond and Si-Diamond Interfaces. Advanced Electronic Materials, 11(1), Article 2400146. https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400146

@article{9de1c6868f68452b8f1e5a54f7f7d250,

title = "Lossless Phonon Transition Through GaN-Diamond and Si-Diamond Interfaces",

abstract = "Advancing Silicon (Si) technology beyond Moore's law through 3D architectures requires highly efficient heat management methods compatible with foundry processes. While continued increases in transistor density can be achieved through 3D architectures, self-heating in the upper tiers degrades the performance. Self-heating is a critical problem for high-power, high-frequency, wide bandgap, and ultra-wide bandgap devices as well. Diamond, known for its exceptional thermal conductivity, offers a viable solution in both these cases. Since thermal boundary resistance (between the channel/junction and diamond plays a crucial role in overall thermal resistance, this study investigates various dielectrics for interface engineering, such as Silicon dioxide (SiO2), amorphous- Silicon Carbide (a-SiC), and Silicon Nitride (SiNx), to make a phonon bridge at gallium nitride (GaN)-diamond and Si-diamond interfaces. The a-SiC interlayer reduces diamond/GaN (<5 m2K per GW) and diamond/Si (<2 m2K per GW) thermal boundary resistances by linking low- and high-frequency phonons, boosting phonon transport through the interface. Engineered interfaces enhance heat spreading from the channel/junction and rule out premature failure.",

keywords = "Moore's law, diamond, interface engineering, thermal boundary resistance, thermal management, ultra-wide-bandgap, wide-bandgap",

author = "Mohamadali Malakoutian and Kelly Woo and Dennis Rich and Ramandeep Mandia and Xiang Zheng and Anna Kasperovich and Devansh Saraswat and Rohith Soman and Youhwan Jo and Thomas Pfeifer and Taesoon Hwang and Henry Aller and Jeongkyu Kim and Junrui Lyu and Mabrey, \{Janelle Keionna\} and Rodriguez, \{Thomas Andres\} and James Pomeroy and Hopkins, \{Patrick E.\} and Samuel Graham and Smith, \{David J.\} and Subhasish Mitra and Kyeongjae Cho and Martin Kuball and Srabanti Chowdhury",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Electronic Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.",

year = "2025",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1002/aelm.202400146",

language = "English",

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Malakoutian, M, Woo, K, Rich, D, Mandia, R, Zheng, X, Kasperovich, A, Saraswat, D, Soman, R, Jo, Y, Pfeifer, T, Hwang, T, Aller, H, Kim, J, Lyu, J, Mabrey, JK, Rodriguez, TA, Pomeroy, J, Hopkins, PE, Graham, S, Smith, DJ, Mitra, S, Cho, K, Kuball, M & Chowdhury, S 2025, 'Lossless Phonon Transition Through GaN-Diamond and Si-Diamond Interfaces', Advanced Electronic Materials, vol. 11, no. 1, 2400146. https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400146

TY - JOUR

T1 - Lossless Phonon Transition Through GaN-Diamond and Si-Diamond Interfaces

AU - Malakoutian, Mohamadali

AU - Woo, Kelly

AU - Rich, Dennis

AU - Mandia, Ramandeep

AU - Zheng, Xiang

AU - Kasperovich, Anna

AU - Saraswat, Devansh

AU - Soman, Rohith

AU - Jo, Youhwan

AU - Pfeifer, Thomas

AU - Hwang, Taesoon

AU - Aller, Henry

AU - Kim, Jeongkyu

AU - Lyu, Junrui

AU - Mabrey, Janelle Keionna

AU - Rodriguez, Thomas Andres

AU - Pomeroy, James

AU - Hopkins, Patrick E.

AU - Graham, Samuel

AU - Smith, David J.

AU - Mitra, Subhasish

AU - Cho, Kyeongjae

AU - Kuball, Martin

AU - Chowdhury, Srabanti

PY - 2025/1

Y1 - 2025/1

N2 - Advancing Silicon (Si) technology beyond Moore's law through 3D architectures requires highly efficient heat management methods compatible with foundry processes. While continued increases in transistor density can be achieved through 3D architectures, self-heating in the upper tiers degrades the performance. Self-heating is a critical problem for high-power, high-frequency, wide bandgap, and ultra-wide bandgap devices as well. Diamond, known for its exceptional thermal conductivity, offers a viable solution in both these cases. Since thermal boundary resistance (between the channel/junction and diamond plays a crucial role in overall thermal resistance, this study investigates various dielectrics for interface engineering, such as Silicon dioxide (SiO2), amorphous- Silicon Carbide (a-SiC), and Silicon Nitride (SiNx), to make a phonon bridge at gallium nitride (GaN)-diamond and Si-diamond interfaces. The a-SiC interlayer reduces diamond/GaN (<5 m2K per GW) and diamond/Si (<2 m2K per GW) thermal boundary resistances by linking low- and high-frequency phonons, boosting phonon transport through the interface. Engineered interfaces enhance heat spreading from the channel/junction and rule out premature failure.

AB - Advancing Silicon (Si) technology beyond Moore's law through 3D architectures requires highly efficient heat management methods compatible with foundry processes. While continued increases in transistor density can be achieved through 3D architectures, self-heating in the upper tiers degrades the performance. Self-heating is a critical problem for high-power, high-frequency, wide bandgap, and ultra-wide bandgap devices as well. Diamond, known for its exceptional thermal conductivity, offers a viable solution in both these cases. Since thermal boundary resistance (between the channel/junction and diamond plays a crucial role in overall thermal resistance, this study investigates various dielectrics for interface engineering, such as Silicon dioxide (SiO2), amorphous- Silicon Carbide (a-SiC), and Silicon Nitride (SiNx), to make a phonon bridge at gallium nitride (GaN)-diamond and Si-diamond interfaces. The a-SiC interlayer reduces diamond/GaN (<5 m2K per GW) and diamond/Si (<2 m2K per GW) thermal boundary resistances by linking low- and high-frequency phonons, boosting phonon transport through the interface. Engineered interfaces enhance heat spreading from the channel/junction and rule out premature failure.

KW - Moore's law

KW - diamond

KW - interface engineering

KW - thermal boundary resistance

KW - thermal management

KW - ultra-wide-bandgap

KW - wide-bandgap

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85197694306

U2 - 10.1002/aelm.202400146

DO - 10.1002/aelm.202400146

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85197694306

SN - 2199-160X

VL - 11

JO - Advanced Electronic Materials

JF - Advanced Electronic Materials

IS - 1

M1 - 2400146

ER -

Lossless Phonon Transition Through GaN-Diamond and Si-Diamond Interfaces

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