Phonon transmission and thermal conductance in one-dimensional system with on-site potential disorder

The role of on-site potential disorder on phonon transmission and thermal conductance of one-dimensional system is investigated. We found that the on-site potential disorder can lead to the localization of phonons, and has great effect on the phonon transmission and thermal conductance of the system. As on-site potential disorder W increases, the transmission coefficients decrease, and approach zero at the band edges. Corresponding, the thermal conductance decreases drastically, and the curves for thermal conductance exhibit a series of steps and plateaus. Meanwhile, when the on-site potential disorder W is strong enough, the thermal conductance decreases dramatically with the increase of system size N. We also found that the efficiency of reducing thermal conductance by increasing the on-site potential disorder strength is much better than that by increasing the on-site potentialʼs amplitude.

► We studied the effect of on-site potential disorder on thermal transport. ► Increasing disorder will decrease thermal transport. ► Increasing system size will also decrease its thermal conductance. ► Increasing disorder is more efficient than other in reducing thermal conductance.