Thermal conductivity of Si/Ge quantum dot superlattices

We present both theoretical and experimental study of the lattice thermal conductivity in Si/Ge quantum dot superlattices (QDS). Our developed formalism takes into account thermal phonon scattering on quantum dots and allows us to predict with good accuracy (∼5%) lattice thermal conductivity modification in QDS compared to the bulk material. According to the theoretical model, the design of quantum dot composition, size and arrangement may be used for the effective control of QDS thermal properties. The results of numerical simulations are in a good agreement with experimental data obtained for Si/Ge QDS. The developed formalism is applicable for a wide range of semiconductor QDSs.