Phonon universal-transmission fluctuations and localization in semiconductor superlattices with a controlled degree of order (original) (raw)

We study both analytically and numerically phonon transmission fluctuations and localization in partially ordered superlattices with correlations among neighboring layers. In order to generate a sequence of layers with a varying degree of order we employ a model proposed by Hendricks and Teller as well as partially ordered versions of deterministic aperiodic superlattices. By changing a parameter measuring the correlation among adjacent layers, the Hendricks-Teller superlattice exhibits a transition from periodic ordering, with alternating layers, to the phase separated opposite limit; including many intermediate arrangements and the completely random case. In the partially ordered versions of deterministic superlattices, there is short-range order (among any N consecutive layers) and long range disorder, as in the N-state Markov chains. The average and fluctuations in the transmission, the backscattering rate, and the localization length in these multilayered systems are calculated based on the superlattice structure factors we derive analytically. The standard deviation of the transmission versus the average transmission lies on a universal curve irrespective of the specific type of disorder of the SL. We illustrate these general results by applying them to several GaAs-AlAs superlattices for the proposed experimental observation of phonon universal transmission fluctuations.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.