ME 381R Lecture 7:

Phonon Scattering & Thermal Conductivity

Dr. Li Shi
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712
www.me.utexas.edu/~lishi
lishi@mail.utexas.edu
Reading: 1-3-3, 1-6-2 in Tien et al
References: Ch5 in Kittel
2
Phonon Thermal Conductivity
l g l l g l l
v C v C k t
2
3
1
3
1
= =
Kinetic Theory:

l

Temperature, T/u
D

Boundary
Phonon
Scattering
Defect
Decreasing Boundary
Separation
Increasing
Defect
Concentration
Phonon Scattering Mechanisms
Boundary Scattering
Defect & Dislocation Scattering
Phonon-Phonon Scattering
0.01 0.1
1.0
Boundaries change the spring stiffness
(acoustic impedance) crystal waves
scatter when encountering a change of
acoustic impedance (similar to
scattering of EM waves in the presence
of a change of an optical refraction
index)

phonon boundary defect l

1 1 1 1
+ + =
Matthiessen Rule:
3
Specular Phonon-boundary Scattering
interface
reflected
u
1
l , t
1
, or t
2
incident
l
t
1
t
2
transmitted
l
t
1
t
2
u
2
critical
angle
interface
reflected
u
1
l , t
1
, or t
2
incident
l
t
1
t
2
transmitted
l
t
1
t
2
u
2
critical
angle
Phonon Reflection/Transmission
Acoustic Impedance
Mismatch (AIM)
= (v)
1
/(v)
2
TEM of a thin film superlattice
4
Phonon Bandgap Formation in Thin Film Superlattices

min
=50
100
50
n=2, =50
n=1, =100
n=2, =100
n=3, =66
n=1, =200
n=4, =50
n
=
2d cosu
(i)
(ii)
(i)
wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,

e

(ii)
wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,


e

(A) (B)

min
=50
100
50
n=2, =50
n=1, =100
n=2, =50
n=1, =100
n=2, =100
n=3, =66
n=1, =200
n=4, =50
n=2, =100
n=3, =66
n=1, =200
n=4, =50
n
=
2d
(i)
(ii)
(i)
wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,

e

(i) (i)
wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,

e

wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,

e

(ii)
wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,


e

(ii) (ii)
wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,


e

wavevector, K
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,


e

(A) (B)
Courtesy of A. Majumdar
5
interface
reflected
u
1
l , t
1
, or t
2
incident
l
t
1
t
2
transmitted
l
t
1
t
2
u
2
critical
angle
interface
reflected
u
1
l , t
1
, or t
2
incident
l
t
1
t
2
transmitted
l
t
1
t
2
u
2
critical
angle
Acoustic Mismatch Model (AMM)
Khalatnikov (1952)
Diffuse Mismatch Model (DMM)
Swartz and Pohl (1989)
Diffuse Phonon-boundary Scattering
E. Swartz and R. O. Pohl, Thermal Boundary Resistance, Reviews of Modern
Physics 61, 605 (1989).
D. Cahill et al., Nanoscale thermal transport, J. Appl. Phys. 93, 793 (2003).
Courtesy of A. Majumdar
Specular Diffuse
6
Temperature (K)
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
T
h
e
r
m
a
l

C
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
W
/
m
-
K
)
0
5
10
15
Si/Si
0.4
Ge
0.6
SL (150 )
Si/Si
0.7
Ge
0.3
SL's 300
150
75
45
Si
0.9
Ge
0.1
(3.5 m)
Si
x
Ge
1-x
/Si
y
Ge
1-y
Superlattice Films
AIM = 1.15
Superlattice
Period
Huxtable et al., Thermal conductivity of Si/SiGe and SiGe/SiGe superlattices,
Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 1737 (2002).
Alloy limit
With a large AIM, k can be reduced below the alloy limit.
7
10
3
10
2
10
1
10
0
10
-2
10
-1
10
0
10
1
10
2
10
3
Temperature, T [K]
T
h
e
r
m
a
l

C
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y
,

k

[
W
/
c
m
-
K
]
Diamond
Boundary
Scattering
Defect
Scattering
Increasing
Defect Density
Effect of Impurity on Thermal Conductivity
Why the effect of impurity is negligible at low T?
8
Phonon-Impurity Scattering
Impurity change of M & C change of spring stiffness (acoustic
impedance) crystal wave scatter when encountering a change of acoustic
impedance (similar to scattering of EM wave in the presence of a change of an
optical refraction index)
Scattering mean free time for phonon-impurity scattering:
l
i
~ 1/(o)
where is the impurity concentration, and the scattering cross section
o= t R
2
[_
4
/(_
4
+1)]
R: radius of lattice imperfaction
: phonon wavelength
_= 2tR/
_> 0: o ~ _
4
(Rayleigh scatttering that is
responsible for the blue sky and red sunset)
_ > : o ~ t R
2


9
Effect of Temperature
o (R/)
4
for >> R
o R
2
for << R
: phonon wavelength
R: radius of lattice imperfection

l

Temperature, T/u
D

Boundary
Phonon
Scattering
Defect
Decreasing Boundary
Separation
Increasing
Defect/impurity
Concentration
0.01 0.1
1.0
e
Increasing T
) (
2
1
e eD n
|
.
|

\
|
+
T k
B

max
e
e
D
u(e)=
10
Bulk Materials: Alloy Limit of Thermal Conductivity
k

[
W
/
m
-
K
]

A
B
Alloy Limit
Impurity and alloy atoms scatter only short- phonons that are absent at low T!
11

Phonon Scattering with Imbedded Nanostructures
Frequency, e
e
max

e
b

v
Atoms/Alloys
Nanostructures
Phonon Scattering
Long-wavelength or low-frequency phonons are scattered by imbedded nanostructures!
Spectral
distribution of
phonon
energy (e
b
) &
group velocity
(v) @ 300 K
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,
e
Wave vector, K
0 t/a
LA
TA
LO
TO
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
,
e
Wave vector, K
0 t/a
LA
TA
LO
TO
12
5x10
18
Si-doped InGaAs
Si-Doped ErAs/InGaAs SL
(0.4ML)
Undoped ErAs/InGaAs SL
(0.4ML)
Imbedded Nanostructures
10 nm
100 nm
Cross-section
Plan View
[
1
1
0
]
0.2ML
0.4ML
0.6ML
0.8ML
0.2ML
0.4ML
0.6ML
0.8ML
InGaAs
ErAs
Images from Elisabeth Mller Paul Scherrer
Institut Wueren-lingen und Villigen, Switzerland
Data from A. Majumdar et al.
AgPb
18
SbTe
20

ZT = 2 @ 800K
AgSb rich
Hsu et al., Science 303, 818 (2004)
Nanodot Superlattice
Bulk materials
with embedded
nanodots
13
Phonon-Phonon Scattering
The presence of one phonon causes a periodic elastic strain which
modulates in space and time the elastic constant (C) of the crystal. A second
phonon sees the modulation of C and is scattered to produce a third phonon.

By scattering, two phonons can combine into one, or one phonon breaks
into two. These are inelastic scattering processes (as in a non-linear spring),
as opposed to the elastic process of a linear spring (harmonic oscillator).

Energy
Distance
r
o
Parabolic Potential of
Harmonic Oscillator
E
b
14
Phonon-Phonon Scattering (Normal Process)
Anharmonic Effects: Non-linear spring
K
1

K
2

K
3
= K
1
+K
2

Non-linear Wave Interaction
Because the vectorial addition is the same as
momentum conservation for particles:
Phonon Momentum = K
Momentum Conservation: K
3
= K
1
+ K
2
Energy Conservation: e
3
= e
1
+ e
2

15
Phonon-Phonon Scattering (Umklapp Process)
K
1

K
2

K
3
= K
1
+K
2

What happens if a t >
3
K
that is outside
the first Brillouin Zone

Then G K K + ' =
3 3
(Bragg Condition as shown
in next page)
K
1

K
2

G
3
K'
U-Process
K
3
2 1 3
2 1 3
e e e + = '
+ = ' G K K K
The propagating direction is changed.
16
Reciprocal Lattice Vector (G)
K = 2t/

min
= 2a
K
max
= t/a
-t/a<K< t/a
2a
: wavelength
G = 2t/a
17
Umklapp process:
G = reciprocal lattice vector
= 2t/a =0
Normal Process vs. Umklapp Process
Normal Process: G =0
1
st
Brillouin Zone
Selection rules:
K
y
K
x
K
1
K
2
K
3
K
y
K
x
K
1
K
2
K
3
K
1
K
2
K
3
Cause zero thermal resistance directly Cause thermal resistance
18
Effect of Temperature
1 exp
1

|
|
.
|

\
|
=
T k
n
B
e

phonon
~ exp(u
D
/bT)

l

Temperature, T/u
D

Boundary
Phonon
Scattering
Defect
Decreasing Boundary
Separation
Increasing
Defect
Concentration
0.01 0.1
1.0

phonon
~ exp(u
D
/bT)
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
T
T
A
D
D
U

u
e u
t exp
Phonon Thermal Conductivity
l s l l
v C k
3
1
=
Kinetic Theory

l

Temperature, T/u
D

Boundary
Phonon
Scattering
Defect
Decreasing Boundary
Separation
Increasing
Defect
Concentration
0.01 0.1
1.0
Temperature, T/u
D
0.01 0.1
1.0
0.01 0.1
1.0
k
l
d
l
T k
Boundary
Phonon
Scattering
Defect
Increasing Defect
Concentration
phonon boundary defect l

1 1 1 1
+ + =
10
4
10
3
10
2
10
1
10
1
10
2
10
3
10
4
10
5
10
6
10
7
Temperature, T (K)
S
p
e
c
i
f
i
c

H
e
a
t
,

C


(
J
/
m


-
K
)
3
C T
3
C= 3qk
B
= 4. 7 10
6
J
m
3
K
u
D
=1860 K
Diamond
C
l
T

20
Thermal Conductivity of Bulk Crystals
3
k