Maximum plasmon thermal conductivity of a thin metal film

Due to their extremely long propagation lengths compared to the wavelengths, surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) have been considered as a key in enhancing thermal conductivity in thin metal films. This study explores the conditions at which the plasmon thermal conductivity is maximized, considering the thickness-dependent metal permittivity. We derived the analytical solutions for the plasmon thermal conductivity in both the thin-film and thick-film limits to analyze the effect of the permittivities of metals and substrates. From the analytical solutions of plasmon thermal conductivity, we deduced that the plasmon thermal conductivity is proportional to the electron thermal conductivity based on the Wiedemann-Franz law. Additionally, we analyzed the conditions where the enhancement ratio of the thermal conductivity via SPPs is maximized. Metals with high plasma frequency and low damping coefficient are desirable for achieving the maximum plasmon thermal conductivity, as well as the maximum enhancement ratio of thermal conductivity among metals. Significantly, 10-cm-long and 14-nm-thick Al film demonstrates the most superior in-plane heat transfer via SPPs, showing a 53.5% enhancement in thermal conductivity compared to its electron thermal counterpart on a lossless glass substrate.