Coherent Phonon Negative Refraction via Interfacial Momentum Compensation

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel mechanism for negative refraction of coherent phonons using interfacial momentum compensation, enabling control over phonon flow in heterostructures for advanced thermal and quantum applications.

Contribution

It introduces a momentum compensation mechanism mediated by interfacial reciprocal lattice vectors, allowing negative refraction without requiring anisotropic dispersion.

Findings

Coherent negative refraction demonstrated in graphene/hBN heterostructures.

Interfacial reciprocal lattice vectors enable asymmetric mode matching.

Mechanism allows active control of phonon flow through interface design.

Abstract

Negative refraction of coherent phonons is crucial for thermal management and quantum information processing, but it remains unrealized because achieving the suitable dispersion for negative refraction simultaneously with long-range coherence is challenging. In this letter, we overcome this limitation by introducing a momentum compensation mechanism mediated by discrete translational symmetry. Interfacial reciprocal lattice vectors provide momentum compensation during phonon tunneling and induce asymmetric mode matching, resulting in negative refraction without requiring strong dispersion anisotropy or a negative-curvature band. Using non-equilibrium Green's function formalism, we demonstrate coherent negative refraction of isotropic acoustic phonons in graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures. This general mechanism enables active control of phonon flow via interfacial design, paving the way for applications in atomic-scale phonon lenses and directional thermal transport.