Quantum Transport in Nanoscale Thermal Systems
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Abstract
Thermal transport becomes a quantum transmission problem when device dimensions approach carrier wavelengths and mean free paths. In this regime, energy is carried through discrete electronic, phononic, or photonic modes; boundaries and interfaces control transmission; and local equilibrium may fail. This article reviews the Landauer framework, the universal quantum of thermal conductance, ballistic-to-diffusive crossover, coherent effects, and the complementary roles of the Boltzmann transport equation, nonequilibrium Green functions, and molecular dynamics. The central conclusion is that nanoscale heat flow is governed less by bulk thermal conductivity than by the number, spectrum, and transmission of available channels. That shift enables engineered thermal isolation, thermoelectric conversion, cryogenic metrology, and heat management in nanoelectronics, while making realistic treatment of disorder, anharmonicity, and contacts essential.
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References
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