The Physics of Phonons
My research work in the 1970's was concentrated
on the study of lattice thermal conductivity of insulators and
semiconductors, including the following theoretical approaches: Relaxation
time methods; Complementary variational principles; Green's function
method; and Zwanzig-Mori projection operator method. I have developed a
model relaxation time approach for lattice thermal conductivity. This
development has been acknowledged by Callaway as one of the leading
works in this field after his own pioneering work. I have also developed a
method for calculating sequences of complementary variational principles
(i.e. a sequence of lower bounds and a sequence of upper bounds) for the
problem of lattice thermal conductivity. This is a general method for solving
any mathematical problem which can be expressed in the form of a
linearised equation of Boltzmann type. My recent interest includes studies of
hot-phonon relaxation in semiconductors and quantum wells, an effect
which takes place femto-seconds after laser excitation of such systems and
are very important in controlling device performance. I have written a post-
graduate book entiled
"The Physics of Phonons"
, published in 1990 by
Adam Hilger (Bristol).
GP Srivastava
Last modified: Fri Feb 17 17:30:30 1995