Computational Revolutions in Lattice Thermal Conductivity

Abstract

Understanding and controlling the phonon, the dominant heat carrier of semiconductor materials, is essential to developing a wide variety of applications. This article studies the theoretical and computational approach of the calculation of lattice thermal conductivity of semiconducting materials. Despite having different methods to calculate the lattice thermal conductivity, first-principle estimates predict more accurately in most applications. This motivates to present the descriptive explanation on first-principle calculation with the combination of lattice dynamics and Boltzmann transport equation. Finally, we summarized an overview of the recent achievements and opportunities.