| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2020 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Alloys and Compounds for Thermoelectric and Solar Cell Applications VIII
|
| Presentation Title |
Using Energy Filtering to Change the Thermoelectric Design Paradigm |
| Author(s) |
Seyed Aria Hosseini, Jackson R. Harter,, Devin Coleman, Lorenzo Mangolini, Alex Greaney |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Alex Greaney |
| Abstract Scope |
Researchers have recently developed processes for synthesizing monolithic Si with improved ZT. These materials obtain higher ZT through a finely controlled array of secondary phase inclusions. In this work we elucidate the role these particles play in (1) scattering of phonons to reduce thermal conductivity, and (2) selective scattering of electrons to increase seebeck coefficient. For (1) Boltzmann transport simulations are used to predict the collective effect of the scattering mechanisms on thermal conductivity. For (2) Fermi’s golden rule is used to compute electron scattering interactions with nanoparticles. We further present a semiclassical transport model in the presence of selective electron scattering. This model predicts that the highest ZTs can be achieved in the tails of the Fermi-dirac distribution of highly doped thermoelectrics. This presents a new strategy for optimization of thermoelectrics that breaks materials engineers free from the traditional paradigm of engineering the fermi energy at the band edge. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: Supplemental Proceedings volume |