Thermal conductivity of GeTe/Sb2Te3 superlattices measured by coherent phonon spectroscopy

Abstract

We report on evaluation of lattice thermal conductivity of GeTe/Sb 2Te3 superlattice (SL) by using femtosecond coherent phonon spectroscopy at various lattice temperatures. The time-resolved transient reflectivity obtained in amorphous and crystalline GeTe/Sb2Te 3 SL films exhibits the coherent A1 optical modes at terahertz (THz) frequencies with picoseconds dephasing time. Based on the Debye theory, we calculate the lattice thermal conductivity, including scattering by grain boundary and point defect, umklapp process, and phonon resonant scattering. The results indicate that the thermal conductivity in amorphous SL is less temperature dependent, being attributed to dominant phonon-defect scattering. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.