Episode 13: New insights lead to control of heat transport in ultrathin semiconductors

In this podcast episode, MRS Bulletin’s Laura Leay interviews Associate Professor Klaas-Jan Tielrooij from both the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Spain, and Assistant Professor Albert Beardo Ricol from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, about their research into heat transport in ultrathin semiconductors. Using a combination of ultra-high resolution pump–probe thermometry and modelling, they uncovered a non-intuitive heat flux driven by thermoelastic effects. They attribute this behavior to differing mechanical properties at the edge of the material when compared to the middle portion. This work was published in a recent issue of Nature Physics.