Review: Multiscale Thermal Modeling in Nanoelectronics

Subcontinuum phonon conduction phenomena impede the cooling of field-effect transistors with gate lengths less than 100 nm, which degrades their performance and reliability. Thermal modeling of these nanodevices requires attention to a broad range of length scales and physical phenomena, ranging from continuum heat diffusion to atomic-scale interactions and phonon confinement. This review describes the state of the art in subcontinuum thermal modeling. Although the focus is on the silicon field-effect transistor, the models are general enough to apply to other semiconductor devices as well. Special attention is given to the recent advances in applying statistical and atomistic simulation methods to thermal transport.