The enhancement of the interfacial thermal conductance at the Cu/Si heterointerface by the amorphous carbon intermediate layer

Heterostructures with different amorphous carbon (a-C) areas are fabricated through simulated magnetron sputtering and mask plates using molecular dynamics simulation. The rationality of the structures is analyzed by number/mass density, hybridization ratio of bonds, radial distribution function and bond angle distribution. Furthermore, the effect of the coverage area of a-C on the interfacial thermal conductance (ITC) of Cu/a-C/Si heterostructures is analyzed in depth. The results showed that the fully covered amorphous carbon insertion layer improves ITC by 67.84 % compared to Cu/Si heterostructure without a-C insertion layer. Phonon density of states (PDOS) shows that phonons within 0–8 THz dominate the heat transport at the heterointerface, and the increase in the coverage area of a-C enhances interfacial phonon transmission in 0–8 THz, allowing phonons to carry more heat energy across the heterointerface. The results and conclusion would have important guiding significance for enhancing the thermal transfer performance of semiconductor devices.