Phonon-interference resonance effects in nanoparticles embedded in a matrix

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that germanium nanoparticles embedded in silicon induce sharp phonon resonance effects that significantly reduce thermal conductance, with potential applications in thermal management and thermoelectric devices.

Contribution

The paper introduces a combined phonon wave-packet and atomistic simulation approach to reveal multimodal phonon resonance effects in nanoparticle-embedded materials.

Findings

Phonon resonance causes sharp transmittance dips at specific frequencies.

Resonance effects are sensitive to phonon coherence length.

Arraying nanoparticles enhances collective vibrational modes and transmittance dips.

Abstract

We report an unambiguous phonon resonance effect originating from germanium nanoparticles embedded in silicon matrix. Our approach features the combination of phonon wave-packet method with atomistic dynamics and finite element method rooted in continuum theory. We find that multimodal phonon resonance, caused by destructive interference of coherent lattice waves propagating through and around the nanoparticle, gives rise to sharp and significant transmittance dips, blocking the lower-end frequency range of phonon transport that is hardly diminished by other nanostructures. The resonance is sensitive to the phonon coherent length, where the finiteness of the wave packet width weakens the transmittance dip even when coherent length is longer than the particle diameter. Further strengthening of transmittance dips are possible by arraying multiple nanoparticles that gives rise to the collective vibrational mode. Finally, it is demonstrated that these resonance effects can significantly reduce thermal conductance in the lower-end frequency range.