Lattice thermal conduction across disordered interfaces

Lattice thermal conduction across the disordered interfaces in multilayered materials has been studied. The model consists of an array of slabs of sca ttering centers (mass defects) embedded in a host material. The layered dis tribution of the mass defects can be characterized by the structure factor in the scattering probability due to the slabs. We assume that the physical arrangement of the scattering centers within a slab is quenched disorder a nd is approximately described by the structure factor of a homogeneous liqu id interacting via hard sphere pair potentials. By varying the packing fi f raction of the scattering centers from low density to high density, the cal culated thermal conductivity exhibits the minimum which reflects the local structural organization of the scattering centers. The relation to thermoel ectric energy conversion has also been discussed.