Thermal conduction in lattice–matched superlattices of InGaAs/InAlAs
Abstract
Understanding the relative importance of interface scattering and phonon-phonon interactions on thermal transport in superlattices (SLs) is essential for the simulation of practical devices, such as quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). While several studies have looked at the dependence of the thermal conductivity of SLs on period thickness, few have systematically examined the effect of varying material thickness ratio. Here, we study through-plane thermal conduction in lattice-matched In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As SLs grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition as a function of SL period thickness (4.2 to 8.4 nm) and layer thickness ratio (1:3 to 3:1). Conductivities are measured using time-domain thermoreflectance and vary between 1.21 and 2.31 W m−1 K−1. By studying the trends of the thermal conductivities for large SL periods, we estimate the bulk conductivities of In0.53Ga0.47As and In0.52Al0.48As to be approximately 5 W m−1 K−1 and 1 W m−1 K−1, respectively, the latter being an order of magnitude lower than theoretical estimates. Furthermore, we find that the Kapitza resistance between alloy layers has an upper bound of ≈0.1 m2 K GW−1, and is negligible compared to the intrinsic alloy resistances, even for 2 nm thick layers. A phonon Boltzmann transport model yields good agreement with the data when the alloy interfaces are modeled using a specular boundary condition, pointing towards the high-quality of interfaces. We discuss the potential impact of these results on the design and operation of high-power QCLs comprised of In1−xGaxAs/In1−yAlyAs SL cores.
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The thermal conductivity of superlattices and nanolaminates has been extensively characterized using TDTR over the last 15 years.
“The thermal conductivity of superlattices and nanolaminates 27, 59, 78, 79, 123, 132-138 (see Figure 6(b) for an example) has been extensively characterized using TDTR over the last 15 years.”
From Tutorial: Time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) for thermal property characterization of bulk and thin film materials (2018) · cites this paper as [136]
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Enhanced Thermal Conduction Through Nanostructured InterfacesPreprint
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- Authors
- Sood, A., Rowlette, J. A., Caneau, C. G., Bozorg-Grayeli, E., Asheghi, M., & Goodson, K. E.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Daylight Solutions 3 , San Diego, California 92128, USA
- Corning (United States) (US)
- Venue
- Applied Physics Letters
- Publisher
- AIP Publishing
- Published
- 2014-08-04
- Volume
- 105
- Issue
- 5
- ISSN
- 0003-6951 (ISSN-L)
- 1077-3118
- OpenAlex
- W2046064854
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 2.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Applied Physics Letters (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-12-1-0195)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Thermal properties of materials
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
- Keywords
- thermal conductivity, InGaAs/InAlAs superlattice, interfacial thermal resistance, interface scattering, phonon-phonon interaction, quantum cascade lasers, layer thickness ratio, time-domain thermoreflectance, specular boundary conditions, InGaAs, InAlAs
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