Research Overview

Thermal Transport Physics

We investigate the fundamental physics governing heat transport in materials. Thermal energy is carried by distinct quasiparticles—namely phonons, electrons, and magnons—whose characteristic length scales span from the nanoscale to the microscale. We explore how these heat carriers transfer energy through microscopic interactions and scattering mechanisms. In particular, we exploit the strong interplay among lattice, charge, and spin degrees of freedom and its role in modulating quasiparticle transport. This coupled framework allows us to uncover how microscopic interactions and scattering pathways govern heat transport across diverse material structures, including thin films and bulk single-crystalline and polycrystalline materials.

Thermal Energy Control

Beyond intrinsic thermal transport, we explore how thermal energy can be modulated, converted, and probed through electrical, magnetic, and optical stimuli. Electrically, we engineer heat-electricity conversion through Seebeck power generation and Peltier cooling. We also explore electrical-current-driven control of thermal conductance. Magnetically, we redirect heat flow through magnetic and spin-dependent transport, focusing on transverse thermal responses such as the spin Seebeck and Nernst effects. Lastly, we use optical stimuli and responses to probe heat flow, employing frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) to detect temperature variations through changes in optical reflectance and characterize thermal properties under various conditions.

Thermal Management

As heat dissipation becomes a critical bottleneck in modern semiconductor technologies, we translate our understanding of thermal transport and its control into real-world thermal management. Passively, we develop packaging approaches of solid-state devices that maximize heat removal by enhancing the thermal conductivity (κ) within materials and the interfacial thermal conductance (G) across their interfaces. Actively, we modulate κ and G within these systems in response to changing operational demands, paving the way for thermal regulators, switches, and diodes.