Non-Fourier Thermal Transport Modeling for Nanoscale Hot Spots

This paper addresses a critical challenge in thermal management for advanced semiconductor devices. Conventional finite-element methods (FEM) based on Fourier's law fail to accurately model heat transport in nanoscale hot spots, leading to inaccurate temperature predictions and potentially flawed designs. The authors bridge the gap between computationally expensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which capture non-Fourier effects, and the more practical FEM. They introduce a size-dependent thermal conductivity to improve FEM accuracy and decompose thermal resistance to understand the underlying physics. This work provides a valuable framework for incorporating non-Fourier physics into FEM simulations, enabling more accurate thermal analysis and design of next-generation transistors.

• •Conventional FEM using bulk thermal conductivity underestimates hot-spot temperatures in nanoscale devices.
• •MD simulations are used to benchmark FEM and understand non-Fourier effects.
• •A size-dependent thermal conductivity, $κ_{\mathrm{best}}$, is introduced to improve FEM accuracy.
• •Thermal resistance is decomposed to quantify different heat transport mechanisms.
• •The framework enables more accurate thermal analysis and design of next-generation transistors.