Hypersonic crystal band gaps in Ni/Cu superlattice nanowire arrays

The hexagonal and tetragonal ordered arrays were prepared by Ni/Cu superlattice nanowires on the porous anodic alumina membrane template, and their phonon band structures were calculated by using the plane wave expansion method. Numerical results show that the hypersonic band gaps can be acquired by adjusting the structural parameters. Along the different wave-vector directions, the width and position of band gap would vary. If the nanowires'filling fraction is increased continuously, the width of the first band gap firstly increases and then decreases within a certain range. The height of superlattice nanowire elementary unit can only affect the width of band gap within a quite narrow range. When the height of elementary unit remains unchanged, the decrease of the Cu-component ratio can contribute to the formation of a wider band gap. Additionally, the wide band gap is more easily formed in tetragonal structure than in hexagonal structure.