Phonon propagation through photonic crystals—media with spatially modulated acoustic properties

The thermal conductivity κ of photonic crystals differing in degree of optical homogeneity (single crystals of synthetic opals) was measured in the 4.2–300 K temperature range. The thermal conductivity revealed, in addition to the conventional decrease in comparison with solid amorphous SiO₂ characteristic of porous solids, a noticeable decrease for T<20 K, the range wherein the phonon wavelength in amorphous SiO₂ approaches the diameters of the contact areas between the opal spheres. This effect is enhanced in the case of phonon propagation along the SiO₂ sphere chains (six directions in the cubic opal lattice). The propagation of light waves (photons) through a medium with spatially modulated optical properties (photonic crystals) is presently well studied. The propagation of acoustic waves through a medium with spatially modulated acoustic properties (phononic crystals) may also reveal specific effects, which are discussed in this paper; among them are, e.g., the ballistic mode of phonon propagation and waveguide effects.