A graphite thermal Tesla valve driven by hydrodynamic phonon transport

The Tesla valve benefits the rectification of fluid flow in microfluidic systems1–6 and inspires researchers to design modern solid-state electronic and thermal rectifiers referring to fluid-rectification mechanisms in a liquid-state context. In contrast to the rectification of fluids in microfluidic channels, the rectification of thermal phonons in micro-solid channels presents increased complexity owing to the lack of momentum-conserving collisions between phonons and the infrequent occurrence of liquid-like phonon flows. Recently, investigations and revelations of phonon hydrodynamics in graphitic materials7–10 have opened up new avenues for achieving thermal rectification. Here we demonstrate a phonon hydrodynamics approach to realize the rectification of heat conduction in isotopically enriched graphite crystals. We design a micrometre-scale Tesla valve within 90-nm-thick graphite and experimentally observe a discernible 15.2% difference in thermal conductivity between opposite directions at 45 K. This work marks an important step towards using collective phonon behaviour for thermal management in microscale and nanoscale electronic devices, paving the way for thermal rectification in solids.