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Atomic scale probing and engineering of interface phonons

Ruilin Mao1, 2 and Peng Gao1, 2,

+ Author Affiliations

 Corresponding author: Peng Gao, pgao@pku.edu.cn

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020034CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26020034

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[1]
Pop E, Sinha S, Goodson K E. Heat generation and transport in nanometer-scale transistors. Proc IEEE, 2006, 94(8): 1587 doi: 10.1109/JPROC.2006.879794
[2]
Chen J, Xu X F, Zhou J, et al. Interfacial thermal resistance: Past, present, and future. Rev Mod Phys, 2022, 94(2): 025002 doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.94.025002
[3]
Gordiz K, Henry A. A formalism for calculating the modal contributions to thermal interface conductance. New J Phys, 2015, 17(10): 103002 doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/17/10/103002
[4]
Krivanek O L, Lovejoy T C, Dellby N, et al. Vibrational spectroscopy in the electron microscope. Nature, 2014, 514(7521): 209 doi: 10.1038/nature13870
[5]
Qi R S, Shi R C, Li Y H, et al. Measuring phonon dispersion at an interface. Nature, 2021, 599(7885): 399 doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03971-9
[6]
Cheng Z, Li R Y, Yan X X, et al. Experimental observation of localized interfacial phonon modes. Nat Commun, 2021, 12: 6901 doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27250-3
[7]
Li Y H, Qi R S, Shi R C, et al. Atomic-scale probing of heterointerface phonon bridges in nitride semiconductor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2022, 119(8): e2117027119 doi: 10.1073/pnas.2117027119
[8]
Wu M, Shi R C, Qi R S, et al. Effects of localized interface phonons on heat conductivity in ingredient heterogeneous solids. Chin Phys Lett, 2023, 40(3): 036801 doi: 10.1088/0256-307X/40/3/036801
[9]
Haas B, Boland T M, Elsässer C, et al. Atomic-resolution mapping of localized phonon modes at grain boundaries. Nano Lett, 2023, 23(13): 5975 doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c01089
[10]
Qi R S, Li N, Du J L, et al. Four-dimensional vibrational spectroscopy for nanoscale mapping of phonon dispersion in BN nanotubes. Nat Commun, 2021, 12: 1179 doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21452-5
[11]
Hoglund E R, Walker H A, Hussain K, et al. Nonequivalent atomic vibrations at interfaces in a polar superlattice. Adv Mater, 2024, 36(33): 2402925 doi: 10.1002/adma.202402925
[12]
Idrobo J C, Lupini A R, Feng T L, et al. Temperature measurement by a nanoscale electron probe using energy gain and loss spectroscopy. Phys Rev Lett, 2018, 120(9): 095901 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.095901
[13]
Lagos M J, Batson P E. Thermometry with subnanometer resolution in the electron microscope using the principle of detailed balancing. Nano Lett, 2018, 18(7): 4556 doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01791
[14]
Liu F C, Mao R L, Liu Z Q, et al. Probing phonon transport dynamics across an interface by electron microscopy. Nature, 2025, 642(8069): 941 doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09108-6
[15]
Castioni F, Auad Y, Blazit J D, et al. Nanosecond nanothermometry in an electron microscope. Nano Lett, 2025, 25(4): 1601 doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c05692
[16]
McCauley M, Martis J, Krivanek O L, et al. Platform and framework for time-resolved nanoscale thermal transport measurements in STEM. 2026: arXiv: 2602.05911. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05911
[17]
Gadre C A, Yan X X, Song Q C, et al. Nanoscale imaging of phonon dynamics by electron microscopy. Nature, 2022, 606(7913): 292 doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04736-8
[18]
Yang L, Yue S Y, Tao Y, et al. Suppressed thermal transport in silicon nanoribbons by inhomogeneous strain. Nature, 2024, 629(8014): 1021 doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07390-4
[19]
Xu Z Y, Mao R L, Gao P. Atomic-scale interface phonon engineering for thermal management: An electron microscopy review. Adv Funct Mater, 2026, e26614
[20]
Gordiz K, Muraleedharan M G, Henry A. Interface conductance modal analysis of a crystalline Si-amorphous SiO2 interface. J Appl Phys, 2019, 125(13): 135102 doi: 10.1063/1.5085328
[21]
Li Y H, Han B, Yang X L, et al. Single-dislocation phonons: Atomic-scale measurement and their thermal properties. Chin Phys Lett, 2025, 42(6): 066302 doi: 10.1088/0256-307X/42/6/066302
[22]
Li R Y, Hussain K, Liao M E, et al. Enhanced thermal boundary conductance across GaN/SiC interfaces with AlN transition layers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2024, 16(6): 8109 doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c16905
[23]
Huang S, Liu F C, Mao R L, et al. Direct wafer bonding of silicon carbide and copper. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2025, 17(19): 28799 doi: 10.1021/acsami.5c00949
[24]
Huang S, Liu F C, Liu J X, et al. Direct bonding of 6-in. SiC/Si wafer with enhanced thermal interface. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2025, 17(32): 46409
Fig. 1.  (Color online) Schematic overview of vibrational STEM-EELS and its capabilities for phonon and thermal characterization. Central panel: Schematic illustration of the STEM-EELS optical configuration, showing (from top to bottom) the condenser lenses, sample, high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) detector, projector lenses, and the EELS spectrometer. Surrounding panels: Representative examples of measurable physical quantities, including spatially resolved phonon dispersion variations, eigenvector-selective detection enabling mode-specific analysis, projected phonon density of states (PDOS) mapping, reciprocal-space phonon population redistribution, sub-nanometer-scale temperature and Kapitza thermal resistance mapping, and analysis of phonon populations under nonequilibrium conditions. Adapted from ref. 19.

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Fig. 2.  (Color online) Representative interfacial phonon engineering studies discussed in the text. (a) Phonon line profiles acquired across the interfaces of AlN/Si (top) and AlN/Al (bottom), illustrating distinct phonon bridging behavior at different material interfaces. Adapted from ref. 7. (b) Phonon line profiles across the AlN/GaN (top) and AlN/Al0.9Ga0.1N (bottom) interfaces, demonstrating the sensitivity of interfacial phonon modes to elemental intermixing. Adapted from ref. 8. (c) Phonon spectra measured near the SiGe interface and adjacent defect regions (top), together with calculated thermal conductance for different interface configurations (bottom), revealing the effect of dislocations on interfacial phonon localization. Adapted from ref. 21. (d) HAADF image of the GaN/SiC interface incorporating an inserted AlN interlayer (top), along with the measured thermal resistance of bulk GaN (bottom left) and the corresponding interfacial thermal resistance (bottom right), exemplifying the phonon bridge strategy. Adapted from ref. 22. (e) Wafer-bonded 4-inch Cu/SiC heterostructure (top left), comparison of cooling rates with epitaxial counterparts (bottom left), phonon line profile across the interface (top right), and the corresponding interfacial localized vibrational modes (bottom right), illustrating how bonding-induced interfaces create localized modes that influence thermal transport. Adapted from ref. 23.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint
[1]
Pop E, Sinha S, Goodson K E. Heat generation and transport in nanometer-scale transistors. Proc IEEE, 2006, 94(8): 1587 doi: 10.1109/JPROC.2006.879794
[2]
Chen J, Xu X F, Zhou J, et al. Interfacial thermal resistance: Past, present, and future. Rev Mod Phys, 2022, 94(2): 025002 doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.94.025002
[3]
Gordiz K, Henry A. A formalism for calculating the modal contributions to thermal interface conductance. New J Phys, 2015, 17(10): 103002 doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/17/10/103002
[4]
Krivanek O L, Lovejoy T C, Dellby N, et al. Vibrational spectroscopy in the electron microscope. Nature, 2014, 514(7521): 209 doi: 10.1038/nature13870
[5]
Qi R S, Shi R C, Li Y H, et al. Measuring phonon dispersion at an interface. Nature, 2021, 599(7885): 399 doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03971-9
[6]
Cheng Z, Li R Y, Yan X X, et al. Experimental observation of localized interfacial phonon modes. Nat Commun, 2021, 12: 6901 doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27250-3
[7]
Li Y H, Qi R S, Shi R C, et al. Atomic-scale probing of heterointerface phonon bridges in nitride semiconductor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2022, 119(8): e2117027119 doi: 10.1073/pnas.2117027119
[8]
Wu M, Shi R C, Qi R S, et al. Effects of localized interface phonons on heat conductivity in ingredient heterogeneous solids. Chin Phys Lett, 2023, 40(3): 036801 doi: 10.1088/0256-307X/40/3/036801
[9]
Haas B, Boland T M, Elsässer C, et al. Atomic-resolution mapping of localized phonon modes at grain boundaries. Nano Lett, 2023, 23(13): 5975 doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c01089
[10]
Qi R S, Li N, Du J L, et al. Four-dimensional vibrational spectroscopy for nanoscale mapping of phonon dispersion in BN nanotubes. Nat Commun, 2021, 12: 1179 doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21452-5
[11]
Hoglund E R, Walker H A, Hussain K, et al. Nonequivalent atomic vibrations at interfaces in a polar superlattice. Adv Mater, 2024, 36(33): 2402925 doi: 10.1002/adma.202402925
[12]
Idrobo J C, Lupini A R, Feng T L, et al. Temperature measurement by a nanoscale electron probe using energy gain and loss spectroscopy. Phys Rev Lett, 2018, 120(9): 095901 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.095901
[13]
Lagos M J, Batson P E. Thermometry with subnanometer resolution in the electron microscope using the principle of detailed balancing. Nano Lett, 2018, 18(7): 4556 doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01791
[14]
Liu F C, Mao R L, Liu Z Q, et al. Probing phonon transport dynamics across an interface by electron microscopy. Nature, 2025, 642(8069): 941 doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09108-6
[15]
Castioni F, Auad Y, Blazit J D, et al. Nanosecond nanothermometry in an electron microscope. Nano Lett, 2025, 25(4): 1601 doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c05692
[16]
McCauley M, Martis J, Krivanek O L, et al. Platform and framework for time-resolved nanoscale thermal transport measurements in STEM. 2026: arXiv: 2602.05911. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05911
[17]
Gadre C A, Yan X X, Song Q C, et al. Nanoscale imaging of phonon dynamics by electron microscopy. Nature, 2022, 606(7913): 292 doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04736-8
[18]
Yang L, Yue S Y, Tao Y, et al. Suppressed thermal transport in silicon nanoribbons by inhomogeneous strain. Nature, 2024, 629(8014): 1021 doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07390-4
[19]
Xu Z Y, Mao R L, Gao P. Atomic-scale interface phonon engineering for thermal management: An electron microscopy review. Adv Funct Mater, 2026, e26614
[20]
Gordiz K, Muraleedharan M G, Henry A. Interface conductance modal analysis of a crystalline Si-amorphous SiO2 interface. J Appl Phys, 2019, 125(13): 135102 doi: 10.1063/1.5085328
[21]
Li Y H, Han B, Yang X L, et al. Single-dislocation phonons: Atomic-scale measurement and their thermal properties. Chin Phys Lett, 2025, 42(6): 066302 doi: 10.1088/0256-307X/42/6/066302
[22]
Li R Y, Hussain K, Liao M E, et al. Enhanced thermal boundary conductance across GaN/SiC interfaces with AlN transition layers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2024, 16(6): 8109 doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c16905
[23]
Huang S, Liu F C, Mao R L, et al. Direct wafer bonding of silicon carbide and copper. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2025, 17(19): 28799 doi: 10.1021/acsami.5c00949
[24]
Huang S, Liu F C, Liu J X, et al. Direct bonding of 6-in. SiC/Si wafer with enhanced thermal interface. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2025, 17(32): 46409

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    Received: 09 February 2026 Revised: 17 April 2026 Online: Accepted Manuscript: 21 May 2026

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      Article Navigation >  Journal of Semiconductors  > 2026  > Accepted Manuscript
      Ruilin Mao, Peng Gao. Atomic scale probing and engineering of interface phonons[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2026, In Press. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020034 ****R Mao and P Gao, Atomic scale probing and engineering of interface phonons[J]. J. Semicond., 2026, accepted doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020034
      Citation:
      Ruilin Mao, Peng Gao. Atomic scale probing and engineering of interface phonons[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2026, In Press. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020034 ****
      R Mao and P Gao, Atomic scale probing and engineering of interface phonons[J]. J. Semicond., 2026, accepted doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020034
      shu

      Atomic scale probing and engineering of interface phonons

      DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020034
      CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26020034
      • 1.

        International Center for Quantum Materials, and Electron Microscopy Laboratory, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

      • 2.

        Tsientang Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang 310024, China

      More Information
      • Ruilin Mao received his bachelor’s degree in Materials Physics from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2022. He is currently a doctoral student at the School of Physics, Peking University, under the supervision of Prof. Peng Gao. His current research focuses on using electron microscopy techniques to investigate thermal transport behavior in materials
      • Peng Gao is a Boya Distinguished Professor at Peking University, a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and Chief Scientist of the National Key Research and Development Program. He earned his Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and conducted research at the University of Michigan, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the University of Tokyo. His research focuses on atomic-scale interface science. He has published over 300 papers and has been repeatedly recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher
      • Corresponding author: pgao@pku.edu.cn
      • Received Date: 2026-02-09
      • Revised Date: 2026-04-17
        • Available Online: 2026-05-21

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