Quasiballistic Heat Conduction in Transient Grating Spectroscopy

Abstract: Transient grating (TG) spectroscopy is an important experimental technique to measure mean free path (MFP) spectra using observations of quasiballistic heat conduction. To obtain MFP spectra, the measurements must be interpreted within the framework of the frequency-dependent Boltzmann transport equation (BTE), but previous solutions have restricted validity due to simplifying assumptions. Here, we analyze heat conduction in TG using a new analytical solution of the frequency-dependent BTE that accurately describes thermal transport from the diffusive to ballistic regimes. We demonstrate that our result enables a more accurate measurement of MFP spectra and thus will lead to an improved understanding of heat conduction in solids.