Tunable thermal conductivity in defect engineered nanowires at low temperatures

We measure the thermal conductivity ($κ$) of individual InAs nanowires (NWs), and find that it is 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the bulk value in the temperature range of 10 to 50 K. We argue that the low $κ$ arises from the strong localization of phonons in the random superlattice of twin-defects oriented perpendicular to the axis of the NW. We observe significant electronic contribution arising from the surface accumulation layer which gives rise to tunability of $κ$ with the application of electrostatic gate and magnetic field. Our devices and measurements of $κ$ at different carrier concentrations and magnetic field without introducing structural defects, offer a means to study new aspects of nanoscale thermal transport.

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