Phonon transport across a Si-Ge interface: the role of inelastic bulk scattering

TL;DR

This paper investigates phonon transport across a silicon-germanium interface, emphasizing the impact of inelastic bulk phonon scattering and non-equilibrium effects on thermal conductance.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical approach combining the McKelvey-Shockley flux method with first-principles modeling to analyze inelastic phonon processes at heterojunctions.

Findings

Inelastic scattering redistributes heat among phonons near the interface.

Non-equilibrium effects are significant when junction length is comparable to phonon mean-free-path.

The study elucidates factors controlling inelastic phonon processes.

Abstract

Understanding phonon transport across heterojunctions is important to achieve a wide range of thermal transport properties. Using the McKelvey-Shockley flux method with first-principles modeling, we theoretically investigate the phonon transport properties of a Si-Ge interface with a focus on the role of inelastic bulk phonon processes. We observe significant inelastic scattering near the interface that redistributes the heat among the phonons as a result of non-equilibrium effects driven by the junction. These effects are most pronounced when the length of the junction is comparable to the average phonon mean-free-path. What controls these inelastic processes is elucidated.