Employing newly developed electron microscopy techniques, researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and other institutions have, for the first time, measured the spectra of phonons at individual crystalline faults, and they discovered the propagation of phonons near the flaws. “Point defects, dislocations, stacking faults and grain boundaries are often found in crystalline materials, and these defects can have a significant impact on a substance’s thermal conductivity and thermoelectric performance”, said senior co-author Xiaoqing Pan from UCI. Read More