Investigation of phonon coherence and backscattering using silicon nanomeshes.

ABSTRACT: Phonons can display both wave-like and particle-like behaviour during thermal transport. While thermal transport in silicon nanomeshes has been previously interpreted by phonon wave effects due to interference with periodic structures, as well as phonon particle effects including backscattering, the dominant mechanism responsible for thermal conductivity reductions below classical predictions still remains unclear. Here we isolate the wave-related coherence effects by comparing periodic and aperiodic nanomeshes, and quantify the backscattering effect by comparing variable-pitch nanomeshes. We measure identical (within 6% uncertainty) thermal conductivities for periodic and aperiodic nanomeshes of the same average pitch, and reduced thermal conductivities for nanomeshes with smaller pitches

SUBMITTER: Lee J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5216120 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature