Vibrational spectra and thermal rectification in three-dimensional anharmonic lattices

Abstract

We study thermal rectification in a three-dimensional model consisting of two segments of anharmonic lattices. One segment consists of layers of harmonic oscillator arrays coupled to a substrate potential, which is a three-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova model, and the other segment is a three-dimensional Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model. We study the vibrational bands of the two lattices analytically and numerically, and find that, by choosing the system parameters properly, the rectification can be as high as a few thousands, which is high enough to be observed in experiment. Possible experiments in nanostructures are discussed. © 2007 The American Physical Society.