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Nanoengineered Materials for Thermoelectric Energy Conversion

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Thermal Nanosystems and Nanomaterials

Part of the book series: Topics in Applied Physics ((TAP,volume 118))

Abstract

In this chapter we review recent advances in nanoengineered materials for thermoelectric energy conversion. We start by a brief overview of the fundamental interactions between heat and electricity, i.e., thermoelectric effects. A key requirement to improve the energy conversion efficiency is to increase the Seebeck coefficient (S) and the electrical conductivity (σ ), while reducing the thermal conductivity (κ). Nanostructures make it possible to modify the fundamental trade-offs between the bulk material properties through the changes in the density of states and interface effects on the electron and phonon transport. We will review recent experimental and theoretical results on superlattice and quantum dot thermoelectrics, nanowires, thin-film microrefrigerators, and solid-state thermionic power generation devices. In the latter case, the latest experimental results for semimetal rare-earth nanoparticles in a III–V semiconductor matrix as well as nitride metal/semiconductor multilayers will be discussed. We will briefly describe recent developments in nonlinear thermoelectrics, as well as electrically pumped optical refrigeration and graded thermoelectric materials. It is important to note that, while the material thermoelectric figure of merit (Z = S2σ /κ ) is a key parameter to optimize, one has to consider the whole system in an energy conversion application, and system optimization sometimes places other constraints on the materials.We will also review challenges in the experimental characterization of thin film thermoelectric materials. Finally, we will assess the potential of some of the more exotic techniques such as thermotunneling and bipolar thermoelectric effects.

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Acknowledgements

The experimental and theoretical data presented in the figures are the results of the work of outstanding students and postdocs: Chris Labounty, Xiaofeng Fan, Gehong Zeng, Daryoosh Vashaee, James Christofferson, Yan Zhang, Zhixi Bian, Kazuhiko Fukutani, Rajeev Singh, Alberto Fitting, Younes Ezzahri, Tela Favaloro, Philip Jackson, Joshua Zide, Je-Hyeong Bahk, Hong Lu, Vijay Rawat, Peter Mayer, Woochul Kim, Suzanne Singer and Scott Huxtable. The authors would like to acknowledge a very fruitful collaboration with Profs. John Bowers, Art Gossard, Susanne Stemmer (UCSB), Arun Majumdar, Peidong Yang (Berkeley), Venky Narayanamurti (Harvard), Rajeev Ram (MIT), Tim Sands (Purdue), Yogi Joshi and Andrei Federov (Georgia Tech), Bob Nemanich (ASU), Avram Bar-Cohen (Maryland), Keivan Esfarjani and Sriram Shastry (UCSC), Stefan Dilhaire (Univ. of Bordeaux), Li Shi (Univ. of Texas), Kevin Pipe (Univ. of Michigan), Joshua Zide (Univ. of Delaware), Ceyhun Bulutay (Bilkent Univ.) Lon Bell (BSST) and Dr. Ed. Croke (HRL Laboratories LLC). This work was supported by DARPA MTO and DSO offices, ONR MURI Thermionic Energy Conversion Center, Packard Foundation, and the Interconnect Focused Center.

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  1. Jack Baskin School of Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064-1077, California

    Ali Shakouri & Mona Zebarjadi

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  1. Ali Shakouri
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  1. et Macroscopique, Laboratoire d'Energétique Moléculaire, Grande Voie des Vignes, Châtenay Malabry, 92295, France

    Sebastian Volz

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Shakouri, A., Zebarjadi, M. (2009). Nanoengineered Materials for Thermoelectric Energy Conversion. In: Volz, S. (eds) Thermal Nanosystems and Nanomaterials. Topics in Applied Physics, vol 118. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04258-4_9

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