Tuning phonon transmission and thermal conductance by roughness at rectangular and triangular Si/Ge interface

Using the atomistic Green's functions method in combination with the Landauer formula, we show that the phonon transmission and thermal conductance of periodic rectangular-shaped and triangular-shaped Si/Ge interfaces are both enhanced and tunable by roughness. For triangular-shaped interface, there is maximum phonon transmission and conductance with increasing roughness height, and the conductance can be tuned maximally by 22.3% compared with the flat interface. The maximum conductance of rectangular-shaped interface is enhanced by about 11.1%. The competing mechanisms between the broadening frequency transport window of rough interface and the increasing diffusing phonon scattering at the interface with higher roughness introduce the maximum transmission and conductance. Similar result is also obtained in non-periodic interfaces. The presented results provide insights into the thermal design of interfaces in nanoscale devices.