Universal Model for Predicting the Thermal Boundary Conductance of a Multilayered-Metal–Dielectric Interface

Overheating in electronic devices is difficult to mitigate, because thermal transport across the internal interfaces is poorly understood. This study uses atomistic simulations and analytical theory to create a model that predicts how the thermal boundary conductance of a metal cap--metal contact--dielectric junction varies with contact thickness. The model contains no fitting parameters and is validated against more than 100 experimental measurements, revealing the important role played by electron-phonon coupling. Physically motivated approximations reduce the model to a simple thermal circuit that retains high predictive power, for streamlining the design of thermally efficient contacts.