Effect of strain on thermal conductivity of amorphous silicon dioxide thin films: A molecular dynamics study

The effect of strain on thermal conductivity of amorphous SiO2 thin films is simulated by using molecular dynamics simulation (MD). The calculated results indicate that the thermal conductivity decreases monotonically as the strain varies from compression to tension and the thermal conductivity changes with thicknesses and temperatures under applied strain. Phonon density of states of strained thin films is used to explain the phenomena. The results can be potentially used to design the MEMS devices, which work at the enhanced temperature and use the amorphous SiO2 film and other similar thin films.