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Thermal Transport in Rough Silicon Nanowires for Thermoelectric Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Sanjiv Sinha ,
Bair Budhaev  and
Arun Majumdar
Sanjiv Sinha
Affiliation:
sanjiv@illinois.edu, University of Illinois, Mechanical Science & Eng, 1206 W Green St, Rm 228, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, United States
Bair Budhaev
Affiliation:
Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Arun Majumdar
Affiliation:
Materials Sciences Division and Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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Abstract

The coefficient of merit, ZT of nanostructured thermoelectric materials increases with reduction in thermal conductivity through phonon scattering. The ideal thermoelectric is considered to be an electron crystal and a phonon glass. This paper explores such a material concept by developing a theory for phonon localization in rough nanowires with crystalline cores. Results based on this theory suggest that the reported hundredfold decrease in thermal conductivity of rough silicon nanowires arises due to multiply scattered and localized phonons. Phonon localization presents a new direction to further enhance ZT through nanostructuring.

Keywords

thermal conductivitythermoelectricthermoelectricity
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1166: Symposium N – Materials and Devices for Thermal-to-Electric Energy Conversion , 2009 , 1166-N04-07
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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