Phonon Localization in Heat Conduction

ORAL

Abstract

The departure from diffusive phonon thermal transport has been extensively observed via a reduction in thermal conductivity in nanostructures. Such non-diffusive behavior has been largely explained with classical size effects, ignoring the wave nature of phonons. Here, we report localization behavior in phonon heat conduction due to multiple scattering and interference of broadband phonon waves, observed through measurements of the thermal conductivities of GaAs/AlAs superlattices with ErAs nanodots randomly distributed at the interfaces. Near room temperature, the measured thermal conductivities increased with increasing number of superlattice periods and eventually saturated, indicating a transition from ballistic to diffusive transport. At low temperatures, the thermal conductivities of the samples with ErAs dots first increased and then decreased with an increasing number of periods, signaling phonon wave localization. This Anderson localization behavior is also validated via atomistic Green’s function simulations. The observation of phonon localization in heat conduction is surprising due to the broadband nature of thermal transport. This discovery suggests a new path forward for engineering phonon thermal transport.

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Presenters

  • Bai Song

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Authors

  • Maria N. Luckyanova

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Jonathan Mendoza

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Hong Lu

    University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Bai Song

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Shengxi Huang

    Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Pennsylvania State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Jiawei Zhou

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Mingda Li

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nuclear Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Yongqi Dong

    University of Science and Technology of China, X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory

  • Hua Zhou

    Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne National Lab, Argonne National Laboratory

  • Joseph A Garlow

    Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Lijun Wu

    Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, CMPMSD, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 2Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Departement, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Brian Kirby

    National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute for Standards and Technology, NIST Center for Neutron Research

  • Alexander Grutter

    National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, NIST Center for Neutron Research, NIST Gaithersburg, Neutron-Condensed Matter Science Group, NIST, NIST Center for Neutron Research

  • Alexander Puretzky

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Yimei Zhu

    Department of Energy Science and Technology, Upton, New York 11973, USA, Brookehaven National Laboratory, Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, CMPMSD, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 2Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Departement, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Mildred Dresselhaus

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Arthur C Gossard

    Materials Department, UC Santa Barbara, University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Gang Chen

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology