The Effects of Van Der Waals Bonding Strength on the In-Plane Lattice Thermal Conductivities of Multilayer Thin Films

A non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulation model is established to investigate the impact of vdW strength on thermal transport along the in-plane direction in argon bi-layer films (BLFs) and silicon BLFs. Simulation results indicate that higher strength leads to a higher in-plane thermal conductivity. However, interface roughness also increases with the continuous increase of the van der Waals (vdW) strength and leads to the reduction of thermal conductivities. The bonding strength does play an important role in manipulating thermal conductivity of multilayer thin films.