Progress of microscopic thermoelectric effects studied by micro- and nano-thermometric techniques

Heat dissipation is one of the most serious problems in modern integrated electronics with the continuously decreasing devices size. Large portion of the consumed power is inevitably dissipated inthe form of waste heat which not only restricts the device energy-efficiency performance itself, butalso leads to severe environment problems and energy crisis. Thermoelectric Seebeck effect is a greenenergy-recycling method, while thermoelectric Peltier effect can be employed for heat management byactively cooling overheated devices, where passive cooling by heat conduction is not sufficiently enough.However, the technological applications of thermoelectricity are limited so far by their very low conversion efficiencies and lack of deep understanding of thermoelectricity in microscopic levels. Probingand managing the thermoelectricity is therefore fundamentally important particularly in nanoscale. Inthis short review, we will first briefly introduce the microscopic techniques for studying nanoscale thermoelectricity, focusing mainly on scanning thermal microscopy (SThM). SThM is a powerful tool formapping the lattice heat with nanometer spatial resolution and hence detecting the nanoscale thermaltransport and dissipation processes. Then we will review recent experiments utilizing these techniques to investigate thermoelectricity in various nanomaterial systems including both (two-material)heterojunctions and (single-material) homojunctions with tailored Seebeck coefficients, and also spinSeebeck and Peltier effects in magnetic materials. Next, we will provide a perspective on the promisingapplications of our recently developed Scanning Noise Microscope (SNoiM) for directly probing thenon-equilibrium transporting hot charges (instead of lattice heat) in thermoelectric devices. SNoiMtogether with SThM are expected to be able to provide more complete and comprehensive understanding to the microscopic mechanisms in thermoelectrics. Finally, we make a conclusion and outlook onthe future development of microscopic studies in thermoelectrics.

Effects of Thickness and Temperature on Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te3-Based Thin Films

Bi_2Te_3 thin films and GeTe/B_2Te_3 superlattices of different thicknesses are prepared on the silicon dioxide substrates by magnetron sputtering technique and thermally annealed at 573 K for 30 min. Thermoelectric（TE）measurements indicate that optimal thickness and thickness ratio improve the TE performance of Bi_2Te_3 thin films and GeTe/B_2Te_3 superlattices, respectively. High TE performances with figure-of-merit（ZT） values as high as 1.32 and 1.56 are achieved at 443 K for 30 nm and 50 nm Bi_2Te_3 thin films, respectively. These ZT values are higher than those of p-type Bi_2Te_3 alloys as reported. Relatively high ZT of the GeTe/B_2Te_3 superlattices at 300-380 K were 0.62-0.76. The achieved high ZT value may be attributed to the unique nano-and microstructures of the films,which increase phonon scattering and reduce thermal conductivity. The results indicate that Bi_2Te_3-based thin films can serve as high-performance materials for applications in TE devices.

Effect of Polyaniline/manganese Dioxide Composite on the Thermoelectric Effect of Cement-based Materials

To enhance the thermoelectric effect of cement-based materials,conductive polyaniline(PANI)modified MnO_(2)powder was synthesized and used as a thermoelectric component in the cement composites.The nanostructured PANI was deposited on the surface of the nanorod-shapedα-MnO_(2)particle and the weight ratio of PANI to MnO_(2)was 22.3:77.7 in the composite.The synthesized PANI/MnO_(2)composite was nanostructured according to the SEM image.The test results of the thermoelectric properties proved that the PANI/MnO_(2)composite was effective as the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity values of the cement composites with PANI/MnO_(2)inside were 3-4 orders of magnitude higher than those of pure cement paste and the thermal conductivity values of these cement samples were similar.The obtained maximum figure of merit(ZT)value(2.75×10^(-3))was much larger than that of conductive materials reinforced cement-based composites.The thermoelectric effect of cement composites is mainly enhanced by the increased Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity in this work.

Analytic solution of quasicrystal microsphere considering the thermoelectric effect and surface effect in the elastic matrix

The incorporation of the quasicrystalline phase into the metal matrix offers a wide range of potential applications in particle-reinforced metal-matrix composites.The analytic solution of the piezoelectric quasicrystal(QC)microsphere considering the thermoelectric effect and surface effect contained in the elastic matrix is presented in this study.The governing equations for the QC microsphere in the matrix subject to the external electric loading are derived based on the nonlocal elastic theory,electro-elastic interface theory,and eigenvalue method.A comparison between the existing results and the finite-element simulation validates the present approach.Numerical examples reveal the effects of temperature variation,nonlocal parameters,surface properties,elastic coefficients,and phason coefficients on the phonon,phason,and electric fields.The results indicate that the QC microsphere enhances the mechanical properties of the matrix.The results are useful for the design and understanding of the characterization of QCs in micro-structures.

Effect of nanocomposite structure on the thermoelectric properties of 0.7-at% Bi-doped Mg_2 Si nanocomposite

Nanocomposites offer a promising approach to the incorporation of nanostructured constituents into bulk thermo- electric materials. The 0.7-at% Bi-doped Mg2Si nanocomposites are prepared by spark plasma sintering of the mixture of nanoscale and microsized 0.7-at% Bi-doped Mg2Si powders. Microstructure analysis shows that the bulk material is composed of nano- and micrograins. Although the nanograin hinders electrical conduction, the nanocomposite struc- ture is more helpful to reduce thermal conductivity and increase the Seebeck coefficient, hence improving thermoelectric performance. A dimensionless figure of merit of 0.8 is obtained for the 0.7-at% Bi-doped Mg2Si nanocomposite with 50-wt % nanopowder, which is about twice larger than that of the sample without nanopowder.

Thermoelectric effect of silicon films prepared by aluminum-induced crystallization

Aluminum-induced crystallized silicon films were prepared on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering. Aluminum was added in the silicon films intermittently by the regular pulse sputtering of an aluminum target. The amount of aluminum in the silicon films can be controlled by regulating the aluminum sputtering power and the sputtering time of the undoped silicon layer; thus, the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity of the polyerystaUine silicon films can be adjusted. It is found that, when the sputtering power ratio of aluminum to silicon is 16%, both the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity decrease with the increasing amount of aluminum as expected; the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity at room temperature are 0.185-0.285 mV/K and 0.30-2.4 Ω.cm, respectively. By reducing the sputtering power ratio to 7%, however, the Seebeck coefficient does not change much, though the electrical resistivity still decreases with the amount of aluminum increasing; the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity at room temperature are 0.219-0.263 mV/K and 0.26-0.80 Ω·cm, respectively.

Nanostructuring and Thermoelectric Properties of Bulk N-type Mg_2Si

Preparation and thermoelectric properties of nanostructured n-type Mg2Si bulk materials were reported. Nanosized Mg2Si powder was obtained by mechanical milling of the microsized Mg2Si powder prepared by solid-state reaction. The bulk materials with 30 nm and 5 μm were prepared by spark plasma sintering of the nanosized and microsized Mg2Si powder, respectively. Both the samples show n-type conduction and the Seebeck coefficient of the sintered samples increase determinately with the grain size decrease from 5 μm to 30 nm. On the other hand, the electrical and thermal conductivity decrease with the decrease of grain size. Accordingly, decreasing their grain size increases their thermoelectric-figure-of-merit. A maximum thermoelectric figure of merit of 0.36 has been obtained for the nanostuctured Mg2Si sample at 823 K, which is 38% higher than that of microsized Mg2Si bulk materials and higher than results of other literatures. It could be expected that the properties of the nanocomposites could be further improved by doping optimization.

Enhanced thermoelectric properties in two-dimensional monolayer Si2BN by adsorbing halogen atoms

Using the first principles calculation and Boltzmann transport theory, we study the thermoelectric properties of Si2BNadsorbing halogen atoms (Si2BN-4X, X = F, Cl, Br, and I). The results show that the adsorption of halogen atoms cansignificantly regulate the energy band structure and lattice thermal conductivity of Si2BN. Among them, Si2BN-4I has thebest thermoelectric performance, the figure of merit can reach 0.50 K at 300 K, which is about 16 times greater than that ofSi2BN. This is because the adsorption of iodine atoms not only significantly increases the Seebeck coefficient due to banddegeneracy, but also rapidly reduces the phonon thermal conductivity by enhancing phonon scattering. Our work proves theapplication potential of Si2BN-based crystals in the field of thermoelectricity and the effective method for metal crystals toopen bandgaps by adsorbing halogens.

Unraveling the effect of uniaxial strain on thermoelectric properties of Mg2Si:A density functional theory study

In this work, the effect of uniaxial strain on electronic and thermoelectric properties of magnesium silicide using density functional theory（DFT） and Boltzmann transport equations has been studied. We have found that the value of band gap increases with tensile strain and decreases with compressive strain. The variations of electrical conductivity,Seebeck coefficient, electronic thermal conductivity, and power factor with temperatures have been calculated. The Seebeck coefficient and power factor are observed to be modified strongly with strain. The value of power factor is found to be higher in comparison with the unstrained structure at 2% tensile strain. We have also calculated phonon dispersion, phonon density of states, specific heat at constant volume, and lattice thermal conductivity of material under uniaxial strain. The phonon properties and lattice thermal conductivity of Mg2Si under uniaxial strain have been explored first time in this report.

Thermoelectric transport through a quantum dot with a magnetic impurity

We study the thermoelectric effect in a small quantum dot with a magnetic impurity in the Coulomb blockade regime. The electrical conductance, thermal conductance, thermopower, and the thermoelectrical figure of merit （FOM） are calcu- lated by using Green＇s function method. It is found that the peaks in the electrical conductance are split by the exchange coupling between the electron entering into the dot and the magnetic impurity inside the dot, accompanied by the decrease in the height of peaks. As a result, the resonances in the thermoelectric quantities, such as the thermal conductance, ther- mopower, and the FOM, are all split, opening some effective new working regions. Despite of the significant reduction in the height of the electrical conductance peaks induced by the exchange coupling, the values of the FOM and the ther-mopower can be as large as those in the case of zero exchange coupling. We also find that the thermoelectric efficiency, characterized by the magnitude of the FOM, can be enhanced by adjusting the left-right asymmetry of the electrode-dot coupling or by optimizing the system＇s temperature.

Spin-dependent thermoelectric transport through double quantum dots

We study the thermoelectric transport through a double-quantum-dot system with spin-dependent interdot cou- pling and ferromagnetic electrodes by means of the non-equilibrium Green＇s function in the linear response regime. It is found that the thermoelectric coefficients are strongly dependent on the splitting of the interdot coupling, the relative magnetic configurations, and the spin polarization of leads. In particular, the thermoelectric efficiency can reach a considerable value in the parallel configuration when the effective interdot coupling and the tunnel coupling between the quantum dots and the leads for the spin-down electrons are small. Moreover, the thermoelectric efficiency increases with the intradot Coulomb interaction increasing and can reach very high values at appropriate temperatures. In the presence of the magnetic field, the spin accumulation in the leads strongly suppresses the thermoelectric efficiency, and a pure spin thermopower can be obtained.

First principle investigation of the electronic and thermoelectric properties of Mg2C

In this paper, electronic and thermoelectric properties of Mg_2C are investigated by using first principle pseudo potential method based on density functional theory and Boltzmann transport equations. We calculate the lattice parameters,bulk modulus, band gap and thermoelectric properties（Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity） of this material at different temperatures and compare them with available experimental and other theoretical data. The calculations show that Mg_2C is indirect band semiconductor with a band gap of 0.75 eV. The negative value of Seebeck coefficient shows that the conduction is due to electrons. The electrical conductivity decreases with temperature and Power factor（PF） increases with temperature. The thermoelectric properties of Mg_2C have been calculated in a temperature range of 100 K–1200 K.

Tunable thermoelectric properties in bended graphene nanoribbons

The ballistic thermoelectric properties in bended graphene nanoribbons（GNRs） are systematically investigated by using atomistic simulation of electron and phonon transport. We find that the electron resonant tunneling effect occurs in the metallic–semiconducting linked ZZ-GNRs（the bended GNRs with zigzag edge leads）. The electron-wave quantum interference effect occurs in the metallic–metallic linked AA-GNRs（the bended GNRs with armchair edge leads）.These different physical mechanisms lead to the large Seebeck coefficient S and high electron conductance in bended ZZGNRs/AA-GNRs. Combined with the reduced lattice thermal conduction, the significant enhancement of the figure of merit ZT is predicted. Moreover, we find that the ZTmax（the maximum peak of ZT） is sensitive to the structural parameters. It can be conveniently tuned by changing the interbend length of bended GNRs. The magnitude of ZT ranges from the 0.15 to 0.72. Geometry-controlled ballistic thermoelectric effect offers an effective way to design thermoelectric devices such as thermocouples based on graphene.

Influence of Structure Parameters on Performance of the Thermoelectric Module

A numerical model of thermoelectric module （TEM） is created by academic analysis,and the impacts of the resistance ratio and thermoelement size on the output power and thermoelectric efficiency of the TEM are analyzed by the MATLAB numerical calculation.The numerical model is validated by the ANSYS thermal,electrical,and structural coupling simulation.The effects of the variable physical property parameters and contact effect on the output power and thermoelectric efficiency are evaluated,and the concept of aspect ratio optimal domain is proposed,which provides a new design approach for the TEM.

High-performance wood-based thermoelectric sponges for thermal energy harvesting and smart buildings

The development of renewable woods for power generation can help improve the energy efficiency of buildings,and promote the concept design and implementation of“smart buildings”.Here,with specific chemical treatment and hydrothermal synthesis,we demonstrated the practical value of natural wood for thermoelectric power generation in smart buildings.The prepared wood-based thermoelectric sponges show high Seebeck coefficients of 320.5 and 436.6μV/K in the vertical and parallel directions of the longitudinal channel of wood.After 500 cycles of the compressive strain at 20%,the corresponding Seebeck coefficients increase up to 413.4 and 502.1μV/K,respectively,which is attributed to the improved contact and connection between tellurium thermoelectric nanowires.The Seebeck coefficients are much larger than those of most reported inorganic thermoelectric materials.Meanwhile,the thermoelectric sponges maintain excellent thermoelectric and mechanical stability.We further modeled the application value of wood-based thermoelectric sponges in smart buildings for power generation.Relatively high thermoelectric electricity can be obtained,such as in Beijing with over 1.5 million kWh every year,demonstrating the great potential in thermal energy harvest and energy supply.

Multiple control of thermoelectric dual-function metamaterials

Thermal metamaterials based on transformation theory offer a practical design for controlling heat flow by engineering spatial distributions of material parameters,implementing interesting functions such as cloaking,concentrating,and rotating.However,most existing designs are limited to serving a single target function within a given physical domain.Here,we analytically prove the form invariance of thermoelectric(TE)governing equations,ensuring precise controls of the thermal flux and electric current.Then,we propose a dual‐function metamaterial that can concentrate(or cloak)and rotate the TE field simultaneously.In addition,we introduce two practical control methods to realize corresponding functions:one is a temperature‐switching TE rotating concentrator cloak that can switch between cloaking and concentrating;the other is an electrically controlled TE rotating concentrator that can handle the temperature field precisely by adjusting external voltages.The theoretical predictions and finite‐element simulations agree well with each other.This work provides a unified framework for manipulating the direction and density of theTE field simultaneously and may contribute to the study of thermal management,such as thermal rectification and thermal diodes.

Energy-resolved spin filtering effect and thermoelectric effect in topological-insulator junctions with anisotropic chiral edge states

Topological edge states have crucial applications in the future nano spintronics devices.In this work,circularly polarized light is applied on the zigzag silicene-like nanoribbons resulting in the anisotropic chiral edge modes.An energy-dependent spin filter is designed based on the topological-insulator(TI)junctions with anisotropic chiral edge states.The resonance transmission has been observed in the TI junctions by calculating the local current distributions.And some strong Fabry–Perot resonances are found leading to the sharp transmission peaks.Whereas,the weak and asymmetric resonance corresponds to the broad transmission peaks.In addition,a qualitative relation between the resonant energy separation TR and group velocity vf is derived:TR=πhvf n/L,that indicated TR is proportional to vf and inversely proportional to the length L of the conductor.The different TR between the spin-up and spin-down cases results in the energyresolved spin filtering effect.Moreover,the intensity of the circularly polarized light can modulate the group velocity vf.Thus,the intensity of circularly polarized light,as well as the conductor-length,play very vital roles in designing the energy-dependent spin filter.Since the transmission gap root in the Fabry–Perot resonances,the thermoelectric(TE)property can be enhanced by adjusting the gap.A schedule to enhance the TE performance in the TI-junction is proposed by modulating the electric field(Ez).The TE dependence on Ez in the nanojunction is investigated,where the appropriate Ez leads to a very high spin thermopower and spin figure of merit.These TI junctions have potential usages in the nano spintronics and thermoelectric devices.

Ultrafast dynamics of photoexcited carriers and coherent phonons in ultrathin Bi;Te;thermoelectric films

The ultrafast dynamics of photoexcited carriers and coherent phonons in ultrathin Bi;Te;thermoelectric films are studied through transient differential transmission spectroscopy.An ultralow frequency coherent optical phonon at 0.16 THz emerges,especially in ultrathin films,and it is ascribed to interlayer breathing modes.It can divide the ultrathin films into two groups which have outof-phase vibration along the normal of a film plane,causing a destructive interference between in-plane propagating thermal waves in the two groups of quintuple layers,and thus possibly reducing the thermal conductivity of the ultrathin films.The excitation power dependence of ultrafast dynamics reveals carrier-carrier scattering dominating thermalization,which provides a microscopic understanding of the reported high electrical conductivity and anomalously high power factor of ultrathin Bi;Te;films at room temperature.

Direct Observation of Thermoelectric Magnetic Convection in Unidirectionally Solidified Al-Cu Alloys

This study performed the time-resolved and in-situ observation of unidirectional solidification of A1-Cu and Sn-Bi alloys under a static magnetic field up to 0.45 T.Irt the case of Sn-Bi alloy,the static magnetic field reduced the local convection around the primary dendrite arms.No thermoelectric convection was detected.On the other hand,the thermoelectric convection was clearly observed in Al-Cu alloy.The observed convection was consistently explained by the thermoelectric magnetic convection.According to a simplified model,the thermoelectric magnetic convection can be induced if the difference in the thermoelectric power between the solid and the liquid phases is in the order of 1 μV/K and temperature gradient is several K/mm.

Thermoelectric effect and devices on IVA and VA Xenes

Emerging Xenes,mostly group IVA and VA elemental two-dimensional(2D)materials,have small and tunable band gaps between graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides,giving versatile electrical properties.While their microelectronic or optoelectronic properties are being extensively explored,there remains a lack of study on Xenes'uniquely advantageous thermoelectric performance.This review highlights state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical progress in the thermoelectric effect and devices of IVA and VA Xenes.Vertically displaced,a.k.a.“buckled”or“puckered,”atomic arrays result in exotic and tunable electrical or thermal transport behaviors.Different from chemical doping strategies usually employed in bulk thermoelectric materials,2D Xenes can be tuned by physical means,such as atomic layer control and quantum confinement effects.A precise and compatible platform for 2D thermoelectric effect and devices study is available via the engagement between micro/nanofabrication of 2D Xene transistors and thermal property measurement techniques.This review also reveals potential thermoelectric applications of Xenes and their compounds(Bi2Te3,Bi2Se3,etc.),such as accurate stretchable temperature sensors,fast terahertz photodetectors,and so on.