TY - JOUR T1 - Thermal management and non-reciprocal control of phonon flow via optomechanics JF - Nat. Commun. Y1 - 2018 A1 - Alireza Seif A1 - Wade DeGottardi A1 - Keivan Esfarjani A1 - Mohammad Hafezi AB -

Engineering phonon transport in physical systems is a subject of interest in the study of materials and plays a crucial role in controlling energy and heat transfer. Of particular interest are non-reciprocal phononic systems, which in direct analogy to electric diodes, provide a directional flow of energy. Here, we propose an engineered nanostructured material, in which tunable non-reciprocal phonon transport is achieved through optomechanical coupling. Our scheme relies on breaking time-reversal symmetry by a spatially varying laser drive, which manipulates low-energy acoustic phonons. Furthermore, we take advantage of recent developments in the manipulation of high-energy phonons through controlled scattering mechanisms, such as using alloys and introducing disorder. These combined approaches allow us to design an acoustic isolator and a thermal diode. Our proposed device will have potential impact in phonon-based information processing, and heat management in low temperatures. 

VL - 9(1) UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.08967 CP - 1207 U5 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03624-y ER -