RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
Ultrafast time-resolved measurements were conducted to investigate long-wavelength acoustic phonon scattering and velocity reduction in Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 superlattices. We show that both these phenomena suppress heat transfer process, with the phonon scattering contributing more in differentiating the lattice thermal conductivities among films with different periods. Measurements of reduction in the acoustic phonon amplitudes support the decrease in the thermal conductivity for certain superlattice periods, which is not predicted by acoustic mismatch theory. This study is a direct measurement of coherent acoustic phonons in superlattices which is of significant interest to thermoelectrics