The propagation of acoustic phonons in IV and II-VI group materials with various types of interfaces embedded inside the samples was investigated. A reverberation-type phenomenon was observed in diamond samples with implanted layers. Measurements of phonon scattering in ZnTe and CdTe with different impurity concentrations, dislocation density, and twinning systems had shown that in a pure large-grain ZnTe with chaotically placed twinning systems separated by 1-10µm, the scattering by twins dominated. The phonon free path in such samples was reduced compared to the twin-free (though more doped) material by more than an order of magnitude. Si/SiGe double quantum wells demonstrated a perfect quality of interfaces when probed by phonons from the substrate side.

Scattering of Acoustic Phonons by Embedded Layers, Extended Defects and Interfaces in Diamond, Silicon and II-VI Compounds. A.I.Sharkov, T.I.Galkina, A.Y.Klokov: Physica Status Solidi C, 2004, 1[11], 2941-6