Effect of Phonon Focusing on the Drag Thermopower in Single-Crystal Potassium Nanowires at Low Temperatures

The role of shear waves and the effect of phonon focusing on the anisotropy of the thermopower of the electron-phonon drag in single-crystal potassium nanowires at low temperatures are analyzed in this work. The deformation potential theory is used for the longitudinal components of elastic modes. For the shear components of vibrational modes, the electron-phonon interaction constant is used, which was determined previously from comparing the results of calculating the thermoelectric power with experimental data for bulk potassium crystals. It is shown that shear waves make a significant contribution to the drag thermopower of nanowires. In the regime of the Knudsen phonon gas flow for nanowires with a cross-section side D = 5 x 10(-6) cm, the contribution of the slow transverse mode t(2) with allowance for only the longitudinal component in the [111] directions turned out to be 32% smaller and, with allowance for the shear component of the t(2) mode, 12% greater than the contribution of longitudinal phonons. Directions corresponding to the maximum and minimum values of the drag thermopower of nanowires are determined. It is shown that, under conditions of competition between the boundary and bulk mechanisms of phonon relaxation with an increase in the cross section of nanowires, the anisotropy of the drag thermopower changes nonmonotonically. It exceeds 30% not only in the Knudsen phonon gas flow regime, but also when the sample thickness is two orders of magnitude greater. This makes the anisotropy of thermopower available for experimental studies.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the anisotropy of the thermopower of the electron-phonon drag in single-crystal potassium nanowires at low temperatures, with a focus on the role of shear waves. The results showed that the anisotropy of the nanowires changes under different conditions.