Effect of phonon focussing on thermal conductivity of silicon

Thermal conductivity of a cubic crystal in the boundary scattering regime is calculated, taking into account the difference between the phonon phase and group velocities. Numerical estimates in the case of silicon indicate appreciable anisotropy in conductivity as a result of phonon focussing, its maximum value being about 90% larger than the minimum. The contributions of the individual polarization branches are found to be more strongly dependent on direction than the total conductivity. It is further observed that the angle between the phonon phase and group velocities can be sometimes as large as 10°, 24° and 18° in the case of the longitudinal and the two transverse acoustic branches, respectively.