Total-transmission and total-reflection of individual phonons in phononic crystal nanostructures

The control of thermal waves by the phononic crystal exhibits peculiar behaviors different from the particle picture of phonons and thus has attracted increasing interest. However, the wave nature of phonons is only indirectly reflected in most studies via the macroscopic thermal transport coefficient, such as thermal conductivity. In this work, we investigate directly the coherent interference effect in a graphene superlattice structure at the microscopic phonon mode level via wave-packet simulations. The constructive interference and destructive interference between the reflected phonons give rise to valleys and peaks in the transmission coefficient, respectively, leading to the periodic oscillation of the transmission function with the variation of the superlattice period length. More importantly, both total-transmission and total-reflection of individual phonons have been clearly demonstrated. The physical conditions for realizing the phonon interference have been proposed, which are quantitatively in good agreement with independent wave-packet simulations. Our study provides direct evidence for the coherent phonon interference effect, which might be helpful for the regulation of phonon transport based on its wave nature.

Automated summary

In this study, the coherent interference effect in a graphene superlattice structure at the microscopic phonon mode level was directly investigated through wave-packet simulations. The constructive interference and destructive interference between reflected phonons led to periodic oscillations in the transmission function, demonstrating both total-transmission and total-reflection of individual phonons. This provides direct evidence for the coherent phonon interference effect, which could help regulate phonon transport based on its wave nature.