Phys.org November 4, 2024 As metallic nanostructures shrink towards the size of the electronic mean free path, thermal conductivity decreases due to increased electronic scattering rates. Matthiessen’s rule is commonly applied to assess changes in electron scattering rates, although this rule has not been validated experimentally at typical operating temperatures for most of the electronic systems. A team of researchers in the US (University of Virginia, University of Rhode Island, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Intel Corporation) experimentally evaluated the validity of Matthiessen’s rule in determining the thermal conductivity of thin metal films by measuring the in-plane thermal conductivity and electronic […]