Abstract
We show that aperiodic superlattices exhibit intriguing interplay between phononic coherent wave interference effects and incoherent transport. In particular, broadband Anderson localization results in a drastic thermal conductivity reduction of 98% at room temperature, providing an ultralow value of 1.3 W m^{-1} K^{-1}, and further yields an anomalously large thermal anisotropy ratio of ∼10^{2} in aperiodic Si/Ge superlattices. A maximum in the thermal conductivity emerges as an unambiguous consequence of phonon Anderson localization at a system length scale bridging the extended and localized transport regimes. The frequency-resolved picture, combined with our lattice dynamical description of Anderson localization, elucidates the rich transport characteristics in these systems and the potential of correlated disorder for sub- to few-THz phononic engineering of heat transport in thermoelectric applications.
Highlights
The recent advent of novel nanophononic systems has enabled tuning the thermal properties of semiconductor materials by the manipulation of coherent thermal phonons [1,2]
SLs provide a natural platform for studying wave effects and the interplay between coherent and incoherent thermal transport at period lengths bridged by the coherence length of the dominant phonon modes [8,9]
In this Letter, we present the spectral characteristics of phonon localization in aperiodic SLs at room temperature, including the effect of incoherent impurity scattering by interfacial mixing of atomic species
Summary
The recent advent of novel nanophononic systems has enabled tuning the thermal properties of semiconductor materials by the manipulation of coherent thermal phonons [1,2]. In this Letter, we present the spectral characteristics of phonon localization in aperiodic SLs at room temperature, including the effect of incoherent impurity scattering by interfacial mixing of atomic species.
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