Umklapp scattering

Figure 1.: Normal process (N-process) and Umklapp

process (U-process). While the N-process conserves
total phonon momentum, the U-process changes
phonon momentum.

Figure 2.: k-vectors exceeding the first Brillouin zone

(red) do not carry more information than their
counterparts (black) in the first Brillouin zone.

Umklapp scattering (also U-process or

Umklapp process) is the transformation,
like a reflection or a translation, of a wave
vector to another Brillouin zone as a
result of a scattering process, for
example an electron-lattice potential
scattering or an anharmonic phonon-
phonon (or electron-phonon) scattering
process, reflecting an electronic state or
creating a phonon with a momentum k-
vector outside the first Brillouin zone.
Umklapp scattering is one process
limiting the thermal conductivity in
crystalline materials, the others being
phonon scattering on crystal defects and
at the surface of the sample.

Figure 1 schematically shows the

possible scattering processes of two
incoming phonons with wave-vectors (k-
vectors) k1 and k2 (red) creating one
outgoing phonon with a wave vector k3
(blue). As long as the sum of k1 and k2
stay inside the first Brillouin zone (grey
squares), k3 is the sum of the former two,
thus conserving phonon momentum.
This process is called normal scattering
(N-process).

With increasing phonon momentum and

thus larger wave vectors k1 and k2, their
sum might point outside the first Brillouin
zone (k'3). As shown in Figure 2, k-
vectors outside the first Brillouin zone are
physically equivalent to vectors inside it
and can be mathematically transformed
into each other by the addition of a
reciprocal lattice vector G. These
processes are called Umklapp scattering
and change the total phonon momentum.

Umklapp scattering is the dominant

process for thermal resistivity at high
temperatures for low defect crystals. The
thermal conductivity for an insulating
crystal where the U-processes are
dominant has 1/T dependence.

The name derives from the German word

umklappen (to turn over). Rudolf Peierls,
in his autobiography Bird of Passage
states he was the originator of this
phrase and coined it during his 1929
crystal lattice studies under the tutelage
of Wolfgang Pauli. Peierls wrote, "...I
used the German term Umklapp (flip-
over) and this rather ugly word has
remained in use....[1]"

References
1. Peierls, Rudolf (1985). Bird of Passage:
Recollections of a Physicist. Princeton
University Press. ISBN 0691083908.

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