Microscopic Description of Coherent Transport by Thermal Phonons

Abstract

We demonstrate the coherent transport of thermal energy in superlattices by introducing a microscopic definition of the phonon coherence length. We demonstrate how to distinguish a coherent transport regime from diffuse interface scattering and discuss how these can be specifically controlled by several physical parameters. Our approach provides a convenient framework for the interpretation of previous experiments and thermal conductivity calculations and paves the way for the design of a new class of thermal interface materials.