Isotope effects on the lattice dynamics of crystals

Abstract

Abstract It seems likely that isotope effects are most clearly manifested in crystal lattice dynamics, which is evidenced by works in this field that have been published for more than half a century. A great number of stable isotopes and well-developed methods of their separation has made it possible to date to grow crystals of C, LiH, ZnO, ZnSe, CuCl, GaN, GaAs, CdS, Cu2O, Si, Ge and α-Sn with a controllable isotopic composition. The accumulated voluminous theoretical and experimental data suggest that the isotopic composition of a crystal lattice exerts some influence on the thermal, elastic, and vibrational properties of crystals. These effects are quite large and can be readily measured by modern experimental techniques (ultrasound, Brillouin and Raman scattering, and neutron scattering). For example, the change in the lattice constant is Δa/a=10−3 to 10−4, while the change δcik in the elastic constants amounts to several percent. The maximum km (where km is the maximum of thermal conductivity) measured for the most highly enriched 70 Ge (99.99%) sample is 10.5 kW/mK, one order of magnitude higher than for the natural Ge (analogous for C and Si). In addition, crystals of different isotopic compositions possess different Debye temperatures. This difference between a LiH crystal and its deuteride exceeds hundred degrees. Of the same order of magnitude is the difference between Debye temperatures for diamond crystals. Very pronounced and general effects of isotopic substitution are observed in phonon spectra. The scattering lines in isotopically mixed crystals are not only shifted (the shift of LO lines exceeds 100 cm−1) but are also broadened. This broadening is related to the isotopic disorder of a crystal lattice. It is shown in this review that the degree of change in the scattering potential is different for different isotopic mixed crystals. In the case of germanium and diamond crystals, phonon scattering is weak, which allows one to successfully apply the coherent potential approximation (CPA) for describing shift and broadening of scattering lines. In the case of lithium hydride, the change in the scattering potential is so strong that it results in phonon localization, which is directly observed in experiments. Capture the thermal neutrons by isotope nuclei followed by nuclei decay produces new elements in a very large number of possibilities for isotope selective doping of different materials. The review closes with a section describing future developments and applications of isotope technology and engineering.